The Forgotten Child
by Bope forever
Summary: This is my version of what might have been if Bo and Hope had a child who had been born all those years ago when Hope was missing and believed dead. Their daughter Alicia has escaped from Stefano and has come to Salem to find her family.
1. Chapter 1

_**THE FORGOTTEN CHILD**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_Alicia quietly crept up to the window, peering in just under the sill. Inside was a family sitting down to eat dinner talking animatedly with each other. Alicia could hardly catch her breath staring in at the woman. She hadn't seen her in years; that is until this morning when she nearly bumped into her at Salem Place. She side stepped just in time to avoid knocking her over and darted off into an alley. The woman had been looking down at a young girl trying to brush strands of hair out of her face. Alicia was so startled by the sight of her that she nearly collided into her. _

'_How can it be her? Stefano said she drowned in the river. It can't be her, but I know it is. She looks exactly like I remember.' Alicia thought to herself as she stepped out of the alley and began trailing the woman and her daughter. She followed them all the way to their house and quickly skirted into the bushes before the man of the house spotted her. And here she stood two hours later still spying on the family through the kitchen window. Another young woman had joined the family and sat eating with them now._

"_Did you have fun shopping with Mommy today, Ciara?" Bo asked the little girl._

"_Yes Daddy." Ciara answered._

"_Hey Hope are you and Dad going to the grand reopening of The Blue Note?" Chelsea asked Hope. "'Cuz if you are, I can watch Ciara for you."_

"_Sweetie aren't you going? I can call Aunt Maggie to watch Ciara." _

"_Um no, I'm not going. Besides, I thought I could spend some time with my little sister here and give you and dad a night out." Chelsea said hugging Ciara._

"_Well, we haven't decided anything just yet. Your dad has a lot of paperwork to finish." Hope passed a piece of pie to Bo. "Unless of course you finished while I was out with Ciara?"_

_Alicia moved to stop the cramp that was creeping up the side of her leg. Big mistake._

"_There's someone outside!" Shrieked Chelsea._

"_Where? I don't see anything." Bo said getting up to go outside and check on things._

"_I saw something in the window just now." Chelsea said pointing to the window Alicia had just ducked under. She crawled along the ground in the near dark, making her way to the front of the house where she got up and ran off into the night. _

"_Whew that was close." She said as she made her way into Salem park. "I'll have to be more careful next time." She said aloud to no one. Alicia wandered around the park trying to make sense of the day. 'I remember Stefano telling me that she died in the river. Why would he lie to me? It's not like he had anything to gain by telling me that. But if she died then who is that woman? It has to be her. She looks just like her. And that man is the same man that I've seen in pictures with her. There's too much of a coincidence for it not to be her.' Alicia kept wondering why Stefano would lie about something like that. What purpose did it serve him._

'_I guess I should find a quiet spot to set up for the night. Hopefully tomorrow I can find some answers.' Alicia lay at the base of a tree off in the corner of the park hoping no one would notice her lying there. It was scary in the park at night. She had been in Salem for three days now lying low while searching for her family. She couldn't let Stefano know that she had escaped from his complex. He wouldn't stop until he found her and brought her back to that dungeon. It wasn't long before Alicia fell asleep into a tumultuous dream. Stefano was laughing, sneering at her in the dark room. She couldn't move. She couldn't get away. He just kept laughing that sick hearty laugh of his. _

"_Leave me alone! Go away!" She screamed at him._

"_Miss. Miss. Wake up." Officer Reynolds tried to shake the girl awake._

"_What?" Alicia asked rubbing the lingering effects of the dream out of her eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked now looking up at the officer who stood towering over her._

"_The park is closed. It's after hours now. There's a woman's shelter down the street from here if you need a place to sleep tonight."_

"_I don't. Thanks." Alicia turned to go, but the officer stopped her._

"_Are you a run away?" He asked._

"_What? No, I'm not a run away. I'm over 21 too by the way. I just happened to sit here to rest earlier, but I must have been more tired than I realized and fell asleep. Don't worry, I'm on my way home now." She said turning to leave once more._

"_Where are you going? I can give you a ride home. It's not safe to be walking the streets at night." He said grabbing her arm with his hand to keep her from walking away._

"_Ummm, that's ok. I don't live that far from here. I'll just call my friend to come and pick me up."_

"_Miss, it's really not a good idea for you to be alone this late at night. This is a bad area to be wandering around so late alone. Come on I'll take you home. If it's really not that far, you won't be putting me out of my way." He persisted._

"_Okay." Was all she could say. 'Now what am I going to do? Where am I going to go now. I don't know anyone.' Alicia worried about what was going to happen now while they walked to the patrol car and she got in._

"_Where to?" He asked her as he started the engine._

……_**. Meanwhile back at Bo and Hope's house…..**_

"_Did you find anything?" Hope asked Bo as he cased his gun and put it away._

"_No. Are you sure you saw someone out there kid?" Bo asked Chelsea._

"_I'm not sure what I saw, Dad. I just happened to look up and thought I saw someone looking back in at us. Maybe it was just a shadow and my imagination got the best of me."_

"_Well, I looked all around the perimeter of the house and couldn't find anything or anyone. Guess you might be right about your imagination. But, better safe than sorry. And if you're still willing, you can sit with Ciara tonight while Hope and I go out."_

"_Yeah it's still alright. Why wouldn't it be?" She asked._

"_Well, I thought maybe the events of the night might have left you a little skittish."_

"_What? No. I'm fine Dad. A little shadow play won't scare me. I'm a tough girl. You know that."_

"_Well then I guess we should be getting ready." Hope said circling her arms around Bo's waist. He looked down and lifted her chin with his finger to draw her into a kiss. "Let's go get ready then. I can't remember the last time I had a night out on the town with my wife." He said kissing her again. Bo and Hope left Chelsea sitting with Ciara as they made their way upstairs to their bedroom to change for the evening._

…_**.. Back in officer Reynolds car……**_

"_I…I'm not really sure of the address. I just recently moved here and I'm staying with some friends. Really, I can walk it. It's not that far." Alicia said trying to get the officer to let her alone. _

"_Are you hiding something Miss?" He asked her._

"_No. Really I live right down here on the right. It's that blue house right there." She said pointing at the house she had run from earlier that evening._

"_You're staying there? That's Commissioner Bo Brady's house. He and his wife Detective Hope Brady are the people you're staying with. Well then it's a good thing I found you tonight. They wouldn't have been happy to know you were alone in the park this late."_

"_Wait. That's not it. I don't know the Brady's. I must have gotten it confused with my friends house. I told you I'm new here. Every street looks the same to me."_

"_What's your name?" He asked her pulling over to the side of the road in front of the Brady house._

"_It's Alicia. What does that have to do with me getting home?" She asked looking nervously around for an escape._

"_Last name, Miss?" He asked just as Bo came out and knocked on the drivers side window._

"_What seems to be the problem officer Reynolds?" He asked looking over at Alicia._

"_I found this girl in the park and was giving her a ride home. She can't seem to find her house." he told Bo._

"_Look, why don't you just drop me off at the Brady Pub and I can call my friend form there and she can come and pick me up." Alicia told Officer Reynolds._

"_I have a better idea." Hope said startling Alicia as she had just walked up to the passenger side window. "How about you come inside and call your friend from our phone. Then she can pick you up here or she can give you the correct address so officer Reynolds can drive you home." She said. The four of them walked back to the house and went in. "The phone is right there on the coffee table." Hope told Alicia pointing at the table._

_Alicia walked over and picked up the phone. 'Now what? How am I going to get out of this situation?' She looked around and saw the three of them standing by the door talking. Alicia thought quick and placed her finger on the receiver button and began dialing out random numbers. After a few minutes she said, "No one is answering. Maybe you should just take me to the pub and I can try again later. I don't want to keep you from anything." She said turning to see Hope right behind her._

"_Maybe if you try calling your friend without holding down the button so your call actually goes through, you might have better luck reaching your friend. So, what's your story?" She asked taking the phone from Alicia and hanging it up. "It's obvious you're giving us the run around here."_

"_I don't have a story. Like I told officer Reynolds here, I just moved her several days ago and I'm a little unsure of where my friends house is."_

"_What's her name?" Hope asked not believing a word._

"_Her name?" Alicia stalled._

"_Yes? Or was there ever a friends house that you're staying with? My guess is you're a runaway."_

"_I'm not a run away. I'm over 21 and I have no family, so how could I be a runaway?" She asked her boldly with her chin thrust up. Every muscle tensed in her. She was angry that Hope didn't know who she was. She was angry that Stefano had lied about her death and she was angry that she had gotten caught in this situation. 'Why does she look at me as though I'm a complete stranger?'_

"_It's obvious you're hiding something. So if you're not a runaway, then you're probably running from something. What is it? Are you homeless? There is help out there for you. We have a woman's shelter where you can stay so you don't have to hide out in the park." Hope said looking at her intently trying to figure out what her story is._

"_I'm not homeless. I just don't want my friend to come here and I don't want this officer driving me to her house. She wouldn't like that. It would be much easier if I met her at the pub." She said darting her eyes from Hope's intent gaze. 'She knows I'm lying. I need to find a way out of here. Maybe I can divert their attention so I can slip out without them noticing.'_

"_Don't even think about it." Hope said._

""_What?" Alicia sassed back at her._

"_You know what." Was all Hope could say._

"_Mommy?" Ciara called from upstairs._

"_Coming sweetheart. Don't move." She said turning back to Alicia. "I know what you're thinking and you're not going to slip out of here without answering our questions."_

_Hope went upstairs and Alicia made to sit on the couch to wait for her. Bo and the officer watched her sitting there for a few moments before Bo pulled the officer off to the side to talk with him._

"_Did she mention anything that might be of some help to us? Did she say what she was doing in the park this late at night?" Bo grilled the officer._

"_No. She said she was sitting by the tree to rest and had fallen asleep. When I offered to give her a ride home, she got all defensive. Seems very suspicious to me."_

"_Yeah, that's the feeling I have too. She's lying about this friend of hers, I'd bet my life on it. But if she knows about the shelter, why does she continue to go on with this lie?"_

"_Hey Dad, I thought you and Hope had left. What's going on?" Chelsea appeared from the kitchen. "I was just getting some milk for Ciara so she could go to sleep and I heard all this commotion out here. Is something wrong?"_

"_Where did Alicia go?" Hope asked having returned from seeing to Ciara. "You didn't let her get away, did you?"_

"_Who's Alicia?" Chelsea asked. "Will someone please tell me what's going on here?"_

"_There's a runaway ...err, um at least we think that might be her story. She claims to be over 21, in fact she kept insisting on it. She looks younger though. Anyway, Officer Reynolds found her sleeping in the park and she gave him this song and dance about having just moved here and she didn't know where her friends house was.""Well, that's all possible. People tell me all the time that I look younger than I am. And if she's not from around here, she could've easily gotten lost."_

"_Well… that's true. It is possible. But when I gave her the phone to call her so called friend, she kept her finger on the receiver so she wasn't actually making a call and then proceeded to tell me no one was picking up. She's been acting very suspiciously for someone who has nothing to hide. I told her to wait here for me to return and she seems to have disappeared while two cops were supposedly watching her. Brady!" Hope turned to Bo with her eyebrow raised. "What happened? Where did she go? I don't like the idea of a girl her age to be out on the streets all alone." _

"_I'm on it. I just called in some of my men to be on the look out for her. Officer Reynolds is already going to see if he can catch up with her now."_

"_You didn't answer my question?" Hope said._

"_What question was that?" Bo said scratching at the top of his forehead._

"_How could she have slipped out on two cops who were supposed to be watching her? Did you leave her in the room alone?"_

"_No. Of course not. I just pulled Reynolds aside to ask him if she might have mentioned anything that could be helpful to finding out who she is. Then Chelsea walked in and asked what we were still doing here and then you came in and started yelling about where Alicia disappeared to."_

"_I wasn't yelling." She said lowering her voice. "Ok, maybe I raised my voice a little, but it's only because I'm worried about this girl. She shouldn't be out there all alone at this time of night. I don't care if she's 21 or younger, it's not safe for a woman to be out alone this late." Bo pulled Hope into his embrace. _

"_We'll find her Fancy face. We've got plenty of men out here looking for her now. It's just a matter of time. She couldn't have gotten to far."_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

"_Hope? Have you been up all night?" Bo asked Hope as he came down into their living room and saw her curled up on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee._

"_I night have dozed off a few times during the night." She said smiling up at him as he bent over to kiss her forehead._

"_We're going to find her."_

"_Alive? You know how bad the crime rate has been lately. Just last week we found three bodies of young girls around Alicia's age that had been raped, beaten and strangled to death, I don't want to see another dead body of yet another young girl."_

"_Hope, I know It's hard dealing with this job at times, but Alicia will be found. . . Alive."_

"_How do you know? Do you have a crystal ball in there that I don't know of? Have you had a premonition?"_

"_No. Hope. I just know she'll be found. I don't know why, but I feel this connection to her. Maybe it's part of whatever is happening to me with these visions, but I just know she's okay." Bo sat beside Hope pulling her into his embrace. "We'll find her. I promise."_

"_Where are you going?" Hope asked as Bo pulled away from her._

"_I was just going to check in with the station to see if there's any news.""I already did right before you came down." She said._

"_Oh okay. Anymore of that coffee in the kitchen?" He asked pointing at the almost empty cup Hope held in her hands._

"_Yes. I just made a fresh pot. Would you mind refilling mine?" She asked flashing him a smile._

_Bo went into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He reached into the cupboard for a mug when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Bo stopped what he was doing and walked over to the window to see what was moving. He noticed the shed door was open and banging in the wind. 'I know I latched that door. Who opened it?' He wondered as he crept outside to the shed to peer inside. "What the?" Bo walked over to a pile of blankets on the ground and nudged it with his foot. The blankets began to stir as a dark haired girl emerged from beneath them in the form of Alicia. "What the hell? How'd you get in here?" Alicia rose to her feet and made to run out the door, but Bo caught her arm keeping her from going any further._

"_Let me go!" She hollered._

"_I've got twenty of my men out looking for you. Why did you run off and what are you doing in my shed?" He asked._

"_I needed a place to crash." She sneered at him._

"_What's wrong with the women's shelter?" He asked._

"_I couldn't go there."_

"_Why not?"_

"_I just couldn't."_

"_It's a safe haven for women. You would get a hot meal and a comfortable bed to sleep in instead of a dirty cold floor."_

"_I told you I couldn't go there." She said trying to wriggle free._

"_So you decided to crash here instead?" He said grabbing hold of Alicia's other arm and turning her to face him._

"_Yes." She yelled._

"_Why couldn't you go to the shelter? What are you hiding?" Alicia eyed the door again trying to free herself from Bo's grasp. "Don't even think about it. You ran off once on me, I won't let that happen again until I get some answers from you." He told her. "Now tell me why you couldn't go to the shelter. Are you running from someone? We can either do this here or down at the station"_

"_There are some bad people after me. I couldn't go to the shelter because that is the first place they would look for me." She answered fearful of being dragged to the police station where Stefano could find out she was here in town._

"_People after you. Why didn't you say something last night? I'm a cop I could help you." He relaxed his grip on Alicia._

"_No you can't. No one can." She stated emphatically. "Let me go now. I told you what you wanted so I can go now right? I need to go." She said still trying to wriggle out of Bo's grasp._

"_I know you don't know me, but I can help. Who are these people that are after you? Do you know their names? I could have a sketch artist draw them based on your description."_

"_No. It doesn't matter. You can't help me. And they won't stop until they find me. I have to remain a moving target, so let me go!" She said raising her voice._

"_Where are you going to go? Look, why don't you come inside, have something to eat, freshen up a bit and we can talk; try to figure this out."_

"_There's nothing to figure out. They're after me and they aren't going to stop looking for me until they find me and bring me back."_

"_Bring you back? Where? Are you a runaway? Did you lie to us?" He asked looking puzzled now._

"_No. I already told you I'm not a runaway. I have to go now."_

"_Why don't you come in and get cleaned up. A nice breakfast will give you the energy you'll need to run. Now let's go. I insist." Bo propelled Alicia forward leading her to the kitchen door at the back of the house._

"_Bo?" Hope was calling from the living room. "Is everything alright? I thought you were just getting some coffee. Where did you go?" She said as she opened the kitchen door stopping in her tracks at the sight of Alicia._

"_I told you we'd find her alive."_

"_At least for now." Alicia mouthed under her breath._

"_Where did you find her?" Hope asked Bo. "Where did you go?" Hope's gaze now directed at Alicia. "Do you have any idea how many people were out looking for you?"_

"_I found her sleeping on the floor in our shed."_

"_I just needed a place to crash for the night since your officer wouldn't let me sleep in the park." Alicia mouthed off. "I knew you'd be looking for me, so I thought the best place to crash would be right under your nose where you wouldn't even think to look."_

"_Cute. We got ourselves a little smart aleck." Bo said to Hope. _

"_She sure is a feisty one." Hope said. "Are you hungry? I could fix you some breakfast."_

"_Umm….why are you being so nice to me. I mean it's obvious you don't remember me…um I mean don't know me." She said trying to cover her slip of the tongue._

"_Remember?" Hope asked her eyebrows arched. "Do I know you?" She asked Alicia._

"_What? I meant you don't know me so why do you even care about who I am or where I was last night?" Alicia asked._

_Hope cut her off. "I just wanted to know if you were hungry. We can save the inquisition until after you eat and get cleaned up. You can use the upstairs shower if you want. Oh and by the way, all the windows are rigged with an alarm system so don't try sneaking out again." Hope told her directing her to the bathroom. "I'll fix you some eggs and bacon."_

"_Bacon and eggs? I'm a vegan." She shot back at her. _

"_Oh sorry. I didn't know. Or should I have? Maybe you weren't lying about me not remembering you. You seem to think I should. Is that the case? Should I know who you are?" She asked again._

"_No! Why should you? You don't know me." She turned to go upstairs to shower. 'But you should.' She muttered under her breath. 'Why don't you remember? What did Stefano do to you?' _

"_What was that?" Hope asked her as she followed Alicia up the stairs. "Did you say something?" _

"_No."_

"_I must be hearing things." She said rolling her eyes. "The shower is right through this door. There are some clean towels in the closet. I'll find some clothes for you to wear."_

……_**..**_

"_There is definitely more to her story than meets the eye Brady." Hope said returning to the living room._

"_I agree. Apparently there are some 'bad people' after her. She's running from someone. She just wouldn't tell me who."_

"_She seems to think I should know her. She seems almost angry with me that I don't."_

"_Do you know her?" He asked._

"_No. At least I don't think I do. She doesn't look familiar to me. However, I've seen so many faces in the past few weeks of the family members to those girls that it's possible I may have met her. But it can't be that. How would I even know she's a vegan? This doesn't make sense. Plus last night she said she has no family. I don't get it."_

_Bo placed his arm around Hope's waist. "We'll get to the bottom of this as soon as she gets back down here. For now, let's get some grub. What do vegans eat? Ugh! A life without meat. Who would want to live like that? Doesn't sound to tempting." He laughed as he went to the kitchen to start making breakfast. "You coming?" He turned back to Hope._

"_I think I'll wait here for Alicia to make sure she doesn't sneak out the front door. I think there's some wheat bagels in the cupboard. Alicia will like that." Hope paused. "How do I know that? Is it possible that I do know her and just don't remember?" She asked Bo looking puzzled. "I mean it just popped into my head that she eats wheat bagels. How could I know that?"_

"_Ummm are you getting premonitions now too?" He jokingly asked._

"_Very funny Brady. No. I just don't know how I know that." Hope said trying to figure it out. "I must know her from somewhere. Could she be a friend of Chelsea's maybe? I mean she has had friends over here before. It could be possible that she's one of her friends from college."_

"_I don't think so." He said biting at his fore finger._

"_Why not?" Hope asked._

"_Well, we told Chelsea what her name was last night and she didn't mention that she knew an Alicia. I don't think that's it." A vision stopped Bo in his tracks. ….A loud crash. Dust and smoke. Someone crying. A collapsed ceiling._

"_Bo?" Hope was standing next to Bo trying to get his attention. "You had another vision, didn't you?" She asked already knowing the answer. "What was it about?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Come on Brady. When are you going to trust me with what you're seeing?" She asked him._

"_I do trust you, Fancy face. I just don't know what it's about. It was all jumbled." He told her feeling frustrated over not knowing more._

"_Well why don't you try telling me what you saw and maybe I can help you figure out what it all means."_

"_Are you talking about me?" Alicia interrupted having returned from her shower. "Thanks again for the clean clothes."_

"_You're welcome. What we were talking about doesn't concern you." Hope replied. "Are you hungry?"_

"_Do you have anything I can eat?" Alicia sneered._

"_I think we can manage to find you something." Hope pointed her to the kitchen and found the bagels. "Will these do?" She asked sarcastically._

"_Sure. Whatever." Alicia sat at the table nervously playing with the corner of the placemat. "So when do the questions start? Before or after my last meal?" Alicia looked at Hope questionably._

"_Look, I know you think we're the bad guys here, but we're not. Bo and I are just trying to help you." Hope reached for Alicia's hands and held them. "Sweetheart, we're not trying to scare you. I'd really like to help you if I can. Why don't you start by telling us who these people are that are after you."_

"_He told you?" She asked Hope looking angrily at Bo. "I told you there's nothing you can do. They'll keep looking for me and won't stop until they do. I'm better off on my own."_

"_No you're not. We can help. Just tell us who the people that are after you are. Bo and I are both cops. You'll be protected." Hope tried to coax her into telling them everything._

"_No I won't. You can't protect me now anymore than you did then. He's pure evil. You can't stop him. He's already gotten to you once before. He's obviously done something to you for you not to remember. You can't help me!" Alicia was screaming now. She began shaking from the fear of Stefano and what he'd done to both of them._

"_Who? What do you mean he's already gotten to me. Who are you talking about, Alicia?" Hope tried to calm her down, but nothing worked._

"_It doesn't matter. You can't help me and you can't stop him." Alicia was in tears trembling in her seat. She couldn't control the anger and the hurt anymore. She wanted her mother, but she didn't remember. She didn't know what to do._

"_Alicia? Who is this person? What is it that I don't remember? Talk to me. I can help you but only if you trust me enough to tell me what's going on."_

"_You can't! Don't you get it? You'll never be able to stop him. He won't let you." Alicia bolted for the door and managed to get away from Bo and Hope. She kept running and didn't look back. The tears streamed down her face. After running for what seemed like an hour, Alicia spotted an abandoned mill and ducked inside. She found a corner and sat and cried. "I need you Mommy!"_

…_**Back at the Brady's…**_

"_Did you find her?" Hope asked Bo as he returned back to the house._

"_No. I've looked everywhere. I don't know where she could've gotten to. I saw her run into the woods, but I couldn't catch up to her. There aren't too many places where she could have gone from there. I've got my men out looking for her now."_

"_I'm really worried Bo. I called Aunt Maggie to come and baby sit Ciara. I want to go look for Alicia."_

"_Do you have any idea of what she meant? It's obvious she knows you. The one evil person that springs to mind is Dimera." Bo said._

"_That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't know what she meant, but those missing years are the only times that I have lost memories from. Is it possible that she was at Maison Blanche with me?"_

"_We won't know anymore until we find her and get some answers. I'm going to head back out now and look for her. I'll keep in touch with you. Call me when Maggie gets here and I'll let you know where I'm at and where I've already looked." Bo left the house again in search of Alicia. "Kid what's your story? I've got a bad feeling about this."_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_Alicia woke up startled wondering where she was. She looked around the damp room and realized she'd cried herself to sleep in the abandoned mill. She hadn't had anything to eat in several days and the effects were taking their toll on her. "I should've waited to run until after eating breakfast. Me and my big fat mouth always seems to get me in trouble." Alicia got up from the floor and started roaming about the building to see if she could find anything of use to her. Some scattered papers littered the floor as well as several boxes. At least she'd found a place to hide out in. She could make a plan to keep under Stefano's radar and find a way to get her mother to remember her. _

_As Alicia searched inside the old mill, several officers were searching the perimeters of the building._

"_Do you think she could've gone in here?" Officer Reynolds asked his fellow officer._

"_I don't see how anyone could get into this building. It's been condemned for years now. I think the city should've had it taken down. Not that my opinion matters." Officer Higley responded._

"_Well, Commander Brady told us to check out every possible lead to find the girl. I don't see how she could've gotten in there, but anything is possible. Let's look around back and see if there's an opening anywhere."_

_Alicia crept along the wall having overheard the officers talking outside. "How could they have found me so fast?" She wondered aloud. She needed a place to hide, but there wasn't much in the building besides a the few boxes and some shelving that had been dislodged from the wall._

"_Higley! Over here! I found some footprints. They could be hers. They seem to lead to the back of the building." Reynolds called Higley over to check out the tracks made by Alicia._

"_Those don't even look human." He told Reynolds._

"_What? Are you crazy. Did you flunk out of training? Those are definitely human. They may be small, but it just means it's probably a woman's." Reynolds just nodded his head at the stupidity of his fellow officer._

_Meanwhile, Alicia found a way out through the front of the building and ran off to the woods to hide until the officers finished their search and left the area. "Whew I lucked out this time. Can't believe how stupid that one cop Higley is. What a dimwit!" Alicia crept back to the building making sure no one else was there looking for her. _

……

_Bo was on the phone with Reynolds barking orders to him. "Did you check out the mills? Have you searched the areas surrounding the woods? Where haven't you checked? Never mind, I'll double check everything myself. I want this girl found before sun down. Do I make myself clear?" He yelled into the phone before slamming it shut. The phone rang as he was about to drive off. "Hello?" He asked._

"_Bo. It's me. I just left the house. Where are you so I can meet up with you? Has there been any news?" Hope fired off the questions._

"_Can I get a word in so I can answer you?"_

"_Sorry. I'm just really worried about her and want to know if there's anymore news?" _

"_There's still nothing. I don't know how she manages to keep out of sight so well. Did you check the shed? The last time she took off she was hiding right in our backyard." He asked her._

"_I did. That was the first thing I thought of. I thought maybe she had circled back while everyone was out searching for her. There's no sign of her here. Where are you?" She asked again._

"_I'm over at pier 41. I was just about to take off and go to the mills to double check what Reynolds and Higley may have missed."_

"_Great. I'll meet you there. We can narrow the search if we're both there looking for her." Hope said goodbye and hung up the phone. "Alicia what is it that's got you so scared? Could it be Stefano?"_

……

_Alicia snuck back inside the mill unaware of the man lurking several feet behind her. She didn't hear him creep in behind her nor did she sense him standing so near until it was too late. The hand came around her face keeping her from screaming out. She struggled to free herself, but his grip was too tight. Every attempt she made to free herself only seemed to make him laugh. She writhed beneath his grip twisting and turning until she was facing him his hand still covering her mouth. He wore a mask so all she could see were his eyes leering viciously at her . She wondered how she'd get out of this jam. He pushed her against the wall and began tearing at her clothes. Alicia tried to scream, but found his mouth suddenly covering hers. A sick feeling crawled into her chest. He was going to rape her if she couldn't get away from him. He moved away slightly from her body, but just enough so Alicia could bring her knee up hard and slam it into his jewels sending him backwards and bent over. She took her chance to get away and elbowed him in his back knocking him further down. Alicia took off running from the room. She stopped long enough to squeeze through the boarded up door and kept running straight into Hope's arms. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed Hope in a vice like grip._

……

_Bo and Hope arrived at the mills just seconds apart._

"_I'm going to check out the woods for any clues those dimwits may have missed. Why don't you circle around back and look for any entries." He shouted over his shoulder as he jumped out of his car and walked off towards the woods._

_Hope was coming around the back of the mill when she spotted Alicia crawling through a hole in the boarded up door. Tears covered Alicia's face as she ran straight towards Hope and into her arms._

"_Sweetie, what is it?" Hope asked trying to lessen the grip Alicia held her with._

"_He … he tried to …" Sob. "He grabbed me and he…um… started to tear my clothes…" Gulp. "Off. I tried to get away, but… um he was so strong and I…I couldn't." She sobbed into Hope's shoulder._

"_Is he still inside?" Hope asked her._

"_Yes. I think so." She said through sobs._

"_O.k. I want you to go back to my car and wait for me there. I'm going to check things out." Hope said prying Alicia's fingers from around her neck._

"_N..no. You can't leave me. Please don't leave me." Alicia cried._

"_It's o.k. I'll be right back. I'm a cop and I have to catch this guy before he hurts anyone else. Just go back to my car and wait for me." Hope said as she pulled her gun out and crept to the opening in the door. Bo saw her from the woods and came to see what was going on. Hope mouthed 'the rapist is in there.'_

_Bo jerked his head to the side in an effort to get Hope to back off. "I'll take it from here." He whispered. "Go see to Alicia."_

"_Bo that's crazy. You need back up. You don't know what you're walking into in there." She whispered back slapping his shoulder at the same time._

"_Hope, I don't want to argue with you on this."_

"_Then don't!" She said cutting him off. "I'm not going anywhere so get used to it! I've got your back. Just be careful." She whispered her green eyes glaring at him._

"_I can see I'm not going to win on this one." He whispered back making a face while nodding his head. "Just stay a few feet behind me and don't try to be the hero. Okay?" Bo advanced inside the mill carefully searching in the dimly lit mill to see where the perpetrator might be. He noticed him lying curled up in a ball in the far corner of the room. "Follow me. He's down for the moment, but I don't know how long he'll stay that way."_

_Bo and Hope advanced on the perp with guns raised. "Don't move or you're a dead man." Bo hollered at him. The perp just stayed down coughing into the ground. _

"_I can't move. That little Bitch made sure of that!" He sputtered in between coughs._

"_What did you say?" Bo asked angrily. "That little girl was protecting herself from the likes of you! I think you'd be well advised to keep your comments to yourself. In fact I insist." He said grabbing the guy and pulling him to his feet. He swung the cuffs onto his wrists pinning his hands behind his back. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Bo rattled off the rest of his rights as he grabbed the guy and pulled him out the door to his awaiting car. I believe you're wanted downtown." He said shoving him into the backseat hitting his head on the door as he did so._

_Hope kissed Bo and patted him on the behind before heading to her car where Alicia stood waiting for her. "Come on sweetheart. I'll take you home." She put an arm around Alicia and helped her into the car before getting in the front seat beside her._

"_I don't have a home. You probably already know that by now." Alicia's voice came barely above a whisper. Her eyes were glazed over in a daze. "I don't have anywhere to go." She cried tears streaming freely once more._

"_You're coming home with me." Hope told her reaching over to grab her hand and squeeze it. "We'll figure the rest out later. Did he hurt you? I should take you to the hospital." _

"_No! I'm okay. He just tore my clothes. I'm okay." Alicia clutched at her torn shirt with her free hand and laid her head against the door closing her eyes._

……

"_How is she?" Bo asked stepping into the house closing the door behind him. He walked over to Hope and hugged her. "Where is she? Is she at the hospital?" He rattled off the questions._

"_She's upstairs sleeping. She didn't want to go to the hospital. The poor thing was so shaken by the attack she could barely manage to walk up the stairs." Hope held on to Bo not wanting to be free of his embrace. "I put her in the spare bedroom. I don't know why, but I have this overwhelming need to protect her and keep her safe."_

_Bo held on to Hope stroking her hair. "That's the motherly instinct in you. She was attacked by this piece of lowlife scum who is thankfully behind bars now. He's killed so many young girls her age. It's no wonder this case hasn't gotten to you before this." Bo walked Hope over to the couch and sat down pulling her into his embrace. "Just know that he can't hurt her anymore or anyone else for that matter. He's going to get the chair. No one will have to suffer by his hands anymore."_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

"_Mommy, help me! Help me Mommy!" The crying. Where was it coming from. Hope had to find the source. She searched endlessly through rooms. It almost seemed like she was floating through them. She didn't even know how she'd gotten in to half the rooms. They kept changing on her. And that crying never stopped. "Mommy? Where are you? Help me, Mommy!" A doll on the floor caught her attention. She saw the little hand clutching the doll for dear life. And then the near lifeless body of a little girl who looked so much like Ciara._

"_Baby!" Hope cried. "Is that you?" Hope walked over to the little girl and noticed blood coming out of the back of her head. "No!!!!!!!! Ciara?"_

"_Hope? Hope!" Bo shook Hope trying to wake her. "Hope? What's wrong? What is it?" He asked rousing her from the dream. "You were screaming for Ciara."_

"_What? Where's Ciara? Where is she? Bo let me go. I need to find Ciara." Hope tried to push Bo's hands off her._

"_Take it easy. Ciara's fine. She's downstairs eating breakfast with Chelsea." He said pulling her back to him. "Why were you yelling like that?"_

"_I must have been having a nightmare about Ciara. Bo, it was awful. I saw her lying on the ground with blood coming out of her head. I don't even know where we were. Nothing seemed familiar to me. I even had trouble finding her in the dream." Hope clung to Bo shaking off the remainder of the dream. "It was so real. Why would I dream about Ciara being hurt?"_

"_It was just a dream. Ciara is fine. Why don't you leave the premonitions to me." He jokingly told her trying to get her to stop trembling in his embrace._

"_That's not funny Bo. It was so real. I need to go see our little girl. I need to hold her in my arms; to feel her close to me." Hope rose from the bed and went downstairs to find Ciara._

_Bo went to follow Hope and bumped into Alicia who was coming out of the bathroom. _

"_What was all that yelling? Is everything okay?" She asked him._

"_Ah Hope was having a nightmare. Everything's fine. How are you doing?" He nervously asked, not wanting to get into a heart to heart with her about the near rape. That was something more suited for Hope to discuss with the girl._

"_I'm okay." She said looking down at the floor. "I'm a little hungry though. I haven't eaten in several days."_

"_Well then let's get you something to eat." He pointed to the stairs and they both went down to find Hope holding Ciara in a fierce hug kissing her cheeks. _

"_Mommy you're hugging too tight." Ciara cried._

"_I'm sorry baby. I just love you so so much." She told her relaxing the grip she had on her daughter._

_Bo stopped in his tracks; another vision like the one before. ...A loud crash. Dust and smoke. Someone crying. A collapsed ceiling. 'What the hell does this mean?' He wondered to himself. _

"_Bo? Are you okay?" Hope asked looking worriedly at his puzzled face. "Did you 'see' something?" She asked without alerting Alicia to the fact that Bo has visions._

"_Uh no. It's nothing. You hungry? I was just going to fix some breakfast." He said avoiding the knowing glare that Hope was giving him._

"_I'd love some. I'm going to take Ciara upstairs to get her ready for school." She told him. "How are you sweetheart?" She turned to Alicia._

"_I'm fine." Alicia mumbled. She left Hope staring after her as she made her way to the kitchen._

"_What is it about you that makes me want to protect you so badly?" Hope took Ciara by the hand and went to get her dressed for school._

……

"_Hey Fancy Face did you get Ciara to school alright?" Bo kissed Hope. "I got to head out to the precinct. I want to see to it that that scum doesn't escape in the transfer."_

"_He's being transferred?" She asked._

"_He's being transferred to maximum security where he'll await trial. I want to personally transfer the bastard so he can't escape and hurt anyone else." He pulled Hope into a hug. "I got to take off. I'm not sure what time I'll be home. You going to be okay here with Alicia?" He asked._

"_Why wouldn't I be?" She asked pulling away from him._

"_I dunno."_

"_We'll be fine. Is Chelsea still here?" She asked._

"_I think she's upstairs getting ready for her internship at the hospital. I'll see you later."_

"_Brady!" She said pulling him back inside. "Be careful." Hope kissed Bo. "Call me when you get back to the office. I want to make sure everything goes smoothly."_

"_Don't you trust me?" He asked her._

"_Always." She smiled back at him. Hope shut the door and was just going to check on Alicia when the doorbell rang. "Daddy, Julie! How are you. It's so good to see you. Did you just get back from your cruise?"_

"_Hi Princess." Doug pulled Hope into his embrace and kissed her cheek. "We did just get back today. We thought we'd come right here to surprise you. Heard there was a big arrest yesterday. Glad to hear that vile man has been taken off the streets."_

"_Yes it is a relief." She hugged Julie and they all walked over to the couch. "Can I get you anything?" She asked them. "Tea? Coffee?"_

"_Hope I'm going to the hospital now. Did you want me to pick up Ciara after school?" Chelsea said joining the trio in the living room._

"_That would be great. Yes. Is Alicia upstairs?" Hope asked her._

"_Yeah. I think she's in her room. Has she said anything to you about what happened yesterday?"_

"_Who's Alicia? And what is she doing living with you?" Julie asked Hope._

"_Alicia is the latest victim of that serial rapist/killer. Luckily she got away and Bo and I made the arrest." Hope explained._

"_The poor thing. Did he rape her?" Julie asked._

"_He tried to, but she managed to get away."_

"_How? I've been reading about this in the news, but no one has gotten away from him. How did she manage to?" Julie asked her._

"_I don't know. We were looking for her in the old mills and she came running out when I got there. Her shirt was torn and she was crying. She told me he was in the mills and then Bo and I went in and found him curled in a ball on the ground. Apparently she kneed him to get away. Other than that. I know nothing. She hasn't told me anything else about what happened." Alicia came into the room as Hope finished telling her dad and Julie what she knew._

"_Am I interrupting anything?" She asked Hope._

…_**Salem PD…**_

"_Bo! We need to talk." Abe walked into the precinct._

"_Hello to you to, Abe. Can it wait? I'm on my way out." He asked._

"_No. It can't wait. We need to talk now."_

"_I have to see to this prisoner transfer." He told Abe._

"_So let Roman handle it. You're the commissioner. It's not your job to transfer prisoners."_

"_You don't understand Abe!"_

"_I do!" He said cutting Bo off. "This is more important. Get someone else to handle the transfer."_

"_Roman is out of town. I need to do it." Bo told Abe._

"_Bo. I know what this guy has done. We have a more serious matter at hand."_

"_Fine! Reynolds you're on prisoner transport. Take back up with you. Happy?" He hollered at Abe. "This better be good." Bo followed Abe into his office slamming the door behind him. "So what's this serious issue you need to talk to me about?" His anger still in full force._

"_We have a situation that involves Dimera." He told him._

"_What? This is what you find more serious. That man is always involved in some criminal act. He dreams up new ways of destroying lives about as often as Nicole spends money. What has he done this time, or do I even want to know?" Bo was livid. He wanted to make sure a criminal was brought to justice, but instead he was stuck here in the office discussing Dimera._

"_A disc was dropped off at my office with information on Dimera."_

"_What kind of information?" He asked._

"_Well, we haven't quite cracked the codes it's embedded with."_

"_You kept me here over a disc that could contain God knows what and you think it's more serious than placing a serial rapist/killer in a maximum secure facility! This couldn't have waited?" He fumed._

"_Bo. Calm down."_

"_Calm down?" He cut off. "You want me to calm down when you have a pile of nothing to share with me. What the hell were you thinking?"_

"_If you'd let me explain, we did get some information off the disc that concerns you and Hope." _

"_Hope? What about Hope?"_

"_Now that I have your attention, we were able to see a file on Hope that contains some information on the years Dimera held her prisoner." He explained. "There's more, but we can't break the codes. I was hoping you could give Shane a call and get the ISA in on this to crack the codes."_

"_Do you have the disc? I want to see what's on it." He asked him._

"_I have it here."_

"_Commissioner? Officer Stone peaked his head in the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's a call from Reynolds on line 3 that I think you should take."_

"_Thanks Stone." Bo picked up the phone. "Brady here. What's going on Reynolds?"_

"_Sir? I'm afraid I have some bad news."_

"_Tell me you got the prisoner transferred." Bo shouted into the phone._

"_Sir. I'm afraid not.""What?" Bo fumed. "Where is he?"_

"_I don't know. He managed to escape?"_

"_And just how in the hell did he manage to escape?" Bo asked._

"_Well, officer Higley and I were transferring the prisoner when we came upon a road block on Interstate 80. I got out to check on things and was knocked over the head. When I came to, the prisoner was gone and Higley was unconscious."_

"_Damn it!" Bo spat in the phone. "Find him. NOW! I don't want to hear from you unless it's good news." Bo slammed the receiver down and turned to Abe. "Now do you see why I wanted to transfer him myself? This office is filled with incompetent officers. I don't know how they ever made it out of the academy. Especially Higley."_

…_**Back at the Brady's…**_

"_Alicia, sweetie. Come here and meet my dad and Julie." Hope held her hand out to Alicia to come over to her._

"_Hi." She coyly said._

"_It's nice to meet you." Doug held out his hand to shake hers._

"_Hi. I'm Julie." Julie said taking her hand and shaking it._

"_Well, I need to be heading out." Chelsea announced. "I'll see you later."_

"_Bye Chels." Hope called to her. "Alicia? Can I get you anything?" She asked._

"_No thank you. I'm fine.""Are you sure?" She pressed. The phone rang interrupting her. "Brady."_

"_Brady here." Bo responded. "Just want to give you a heads up."_

"_Please don't give me bad news." _

"_Sorry Fancy Face. I'm afraid I have bad news."_

"_Let me guess. He got away?" She asked._

"_You guessed it."_

"_How?"_

"_I don't have all the details yet, but Reynolds and Higley were transporting him and hit a road block. It turned out to be more than a typical road block. They were both attacked and knocked out and Vito escaped. Just keep an eye on Alicia. I have a feeling he's not happy that she got away from him or how she got away and will be gunning for her."_

"_I feel the same. He'll want to finish the job. Will you be home soon?" She asked. "I thought you were the one that was going to transport him?"_

"_Umm there's more. Abe came in just before I was about to leave. He received a disc that contains some information about you during the time Stefano held you captive. I'm going to give Shane a call and see if he can find anything that may be useful on the disc. I'm really not sure when I'll be home. Just be careful and be on the lookout for Vito." Hope said goodbye and hung up. She turned to see Alicia looking worriedly at her._

"_He got away?" Was all she could say. Alicia ran upstairs and slammed the door. "I need a plan. They can't even keep some creep locked up and they think they can protect me from Stefano. What am I going to do?" She asked to the still air._

_Alicia heard a car pull up outside and looked out the window to see who it might be. "Stefano!" She panicked. "What's he doing here?"_

_The doorbell rings and Hope goes to answer it._

"_Stefano!"_

"_Hope." He says making a curt bow._

"_What do you want?" She asks; eyebrows arched._

"_May I come in?"_

"_No." She tries to shut the door on him, but he puts his hand up stopping the door from closing._

"_Come now Hope, can't we be hospitable?" _

"_After everything you've put my family through you want me to be nice? I don't think so. Please leave."_

"_Why don't we let bygones be bygones." He tells her._

"_I can't just sweep everything you've done under the carpet. What do you want?" Hope asks becoming increasingly annoyed now._

"_I heard you and your husband made an arrest of that menace to society."_

"_And? What does that have to do with you? Is he a friend of yours?" She asked._

"_Blah. Of course not."_

"_Then what do you want?"_

"_I wondered how the girl was? The one you rescued."_

"_She's fine! You can go now if that's all you wanted." She said trying to shut the door again._

"_May I see her?"_

"_Why?"_

"_I'm just a concerned citizen."_

"_Ha ha ha." She laughed. "Nothing you do is done without a reason. What do you want with Alicia?"_

"_Ah, Alicia. Such a beautiful name. No?" This puzzled Hope how he said her name. It's like he knows her. She guessed she was right about maybe having known Alicia when she was Stefano's captive. It made her even more furious that he was here now trying to get to Alicia._

"_Stefano, I think you should go now." She insisted._

"_Ah well, I tried. Let Alicia know that I was asking about her." He said tipping his head to her as he left. Hope slammed the door._

"_Princess?" Doug looked questionably at her._

"_The nerve of that man! Showing concern. He doesn't have an ounce of compassion in him." Hope raged. "I need to check on Alicia. I need some answers and right now she's the only one that has any." Hope raced up the stairs to find Alicia._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

"_Alicia?" Hope knocked on the door. "Alicia, can I come in?" She asked. There was no noise coming from within the room. Hope was unsure if she should leave her alone or just open the door and confront her. She knocked again. "Alicia? Are you okay?"_

_Alicia jerked the door open. "I'm fine. I don't need a baby sitter. He escaped and there's nothing I can do about it. He's probably far away from here. It wouldn't make any sense for him to stick around when everyone knows what he looks like now." Alicia turned to go back in the room and close the door, but Hope stopped her._

"_We need to talk." She said pushing the door back open and followed Alicia into the room._

"_About what? That sick man who tried to rape me? Why I am running and who from? Whether or not you know me? Or what Stefano was doing here?" Alicia said stomping her foot and putting her bunched up fists on her hips like an angry child would do._

"_So you do know Stefano? Is he the one you were talking about that wouldn't give up until he found you? What does he have on you?" Hope asked her._

"_Nothing! Why would you think he has something on me? He's evil. He's a monster that deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life. He ruined my life. He kept me from my family." She stormed on._

"_I thought you said you didn't have a family? Were you lying about that too?" Hope questioned her._

"_I'm not lying about anything."_

"_Then how can you say you don't have a family and then tell me Stefano kept you from your family?" Hope pressed._

"_I said Stefano kept me from my family. I came here to look for them. They don't even know I exist! So yeah, I don't have a family. Yet." She started to tear up. Hope went to put her arm around her, but Alicia pushed her away. "I don't want your sympathy. Two seconds ago you're accusing me of lying and know you're trying to comfort me?" She glared at Hope with anger raging inside her. She didn't want to be mad at her. She wanted more than anything in the world for her mother to put her arms around her and tell her everything would be okay. But, it wasn't and she knew that Stefano would always prevail._

"_Sweetie, I'm just trying to help. I know first hand what kind of man Stefano is and what he's capable of doing. I'm just trying to understand. I can help you, but only if you help me by answering my questions." She tried to reach out to her again, but Alicia just shrugged her hand off._

"_I'm tired." Alicia told Hope._

"_Sweetie, I'd really like to get to the bottom of all this. I know you've been through a lot these past few days, but it's important that you help me understand. Maybe I can help you find your family. Do you know who they are? Their names?"_

"_I don't want to talk about it. I'm tired. Can we talk later? Please?" Alicia asked Hope her eyes begging with her to end the conversation._

"_O.k. For now, we can stop talking. But, this isn't over. You can't keep evading me. I want some answers and I'm not going to stop questioning you until I get them." Hope said. "Rest now. I'll be downstairs when you wake up and you're ready to talk." Hope rose up from her bed and left Alicia sitting there. _

_Alicia threw herself back against the bed. 'If only you could understand. If only you remembered.' She thought to herself._

…_**Back at the Salem PD…**_

_Bo was on the phone with Abe who had left for his office. "Abe? I got in touch with Shane and he's on his way here. He's sending someone over for the disc to bring back to ISA headquarters."_

"_Good. The sooner we crack the codes on that disc the better. Any information we can use on Stefano is a good thing."_

"_You sound like you really have it in for the guy. Papa-in-law get on your last nerve?" Bo said laughing into the phone._

"_This isn't funny Bo! I don't want him anywhere near my son. You know as well as I do what kind of sick man he is and I don't want my son to be a part of that world." _

"_I got you man. I didn't mean anything by it. Just trying to make light of the situation. Anymore luck from your men with the disc?" He asked trying to get back to the subject at hand._

"_I don't think my guy is tech savvy enough to crack the codes. We need the ISA to break it. Let me know as soon as you hear back from Shane."_

"_Will do." Bo hung up the phone and decided to go home to check on things. There wasn't much more he could do at the station until Vito had been found or Shane's men contacted him._

…_**Back at Bo and Hope's…**_

_Alicia fell into a tumultuous dream. She was running frantically from room to room in search of her mother, trying desperately to get away from the bad man. _

"_Mommy, help me! Help me Mommy!" She ran barefoot in her nightgown clutching her dolly. It was late and Alicia was petrified. "Mommy, where are you?" She cried. The bad man chased her and was gaining on her. Alicia turned back to see where he was and didn't notice how close to the staircase she had come. She fell down the stairs banging her head several times. Darkness was consuming her as she feebly cried out, "Mommy!"_

"_Alicia? Sweetie it's okay. It's just a dream." Alicia grabbed Hope and clung to her sobbing. The dream seemed so real and here was her mother holding her in her arms comforting her. Alicia didn't move for a long time. She hadn't felt this safe in years._

"_Alicia? Are you alright?" Hope stroked her long chestnut brown hair. "Where you dreaming about what Vito did to you?" Hope continued to soothe Alicia. "I know he escaped, but you're safe now. He can't hurt you again. I won't let him."_

_Alicia stopped crying. Anger building in her. 'Why did she have to talk and ruin the moment?' It was just a dream. Her mother didn't remember her. She couldn't feel her love like she once did as a child. Alicia pulled away from Hope. "I'm okay. It was just a dream." She lied._

"_You're safe. You have nothing to worry about." Hope wiped the remaining tears from Alicia's cheeks._

"_I'm not safe. I won't be as long as Stefano is around." Alicia pulled away from Hope and got up from the bed._

"_Alicia, honey, do you want to talk about your dream?"_

"_It was nothing. Just a bad dream like you said." She lied again. How could she tell her about the dream. That would only make her ask more questions about the past. She wanted her mother to remember her on her own. When Alicia was little, Hope had promised her that nothing Stefano could do would ever tear them apart. She had given her a locket from her mother and she told her no matter what happened she would always be there in her heart. She promised her that Stefano would never be able to do anything that could change her love for her. Alicia knew now that he could. Knowing her mother hadn't drowned all those years ago made her furious that she had never come to save her from Stefano._

"_Alicia?" Hope pulled her out of her reverie. "It helps to talk about things that are bothering you. Your dreams have a way of telling you something is wrong. I think talking about what happened the other day could help you."_

"_Nothing happened. I was hiding out in the mills when he grabbed me from behind and I kicked him hard when I saw my chance to and got away from him. Nothing happened."_

"_It's still scary having been attacked. I know. I've been there before. Even though he didn't hurt you, it still leaves an effect on you. I know when I was attacked, the least little noise would make me jump. I couldn't stand when someone would walk up quietly from behind." Hope had gone over to Alicia and put her arm around her. "Just because he didn't have a chance to finish what he started doesn't mean that you weren't affected by it."_

"_Can we please stop taking about it?" She asked her. "Nothing happened and I'm fine. I don't want to keep going over it again and again."_

"_If you were fine, then you wouldn't have gotten so scared when you found out Vito escaped."_

"_I think he works for Stefano." She blurted out._

"_How do you know that?" Hope asked her._

"_I saw his eyes. I know them. I know those eyes. They were his." Alicia's face paled talking about the eyes. They were connected to the man who had been chasing her in the dream. She'd know them anywhere._

"_His eyes?" Hope looked puzzled. "Sweetie, we know who he is. We have all the information from the arrest. You saw his face when Bo brought him out of the mills. Why do you think he works for Stefano?" She persisted._

"_I just do." Alicia didn't want to say anymore._

"_The people that you were running from; did they work for Stefano?" Hope tried going a different route with the conversation._

_Alicia turned her face away from Hope's which only convinced Hope she was running from Stefano and his men. _

"_How long have you been away from your family?" Hope asked trying to get some information from her._

"_I've never been with them." She told her._

"_You told me you came here to find your family. If you've never been with them, then how did you know they were here in Salem?" _

_Alicia nervously paced the room. How could she tell her without telling her? And if she did tell her she was her mother, would she even believe her. She had no proof to show her._

"_I found out they were here." She said._

"_Did Stefano kidnap you from your family? Is that why you think your family doesn't know you exist?" She pressed on._

"_No he didn't kidnap me. I was born there." She stopped short. Realizing she had made a mistake by telling her this much, she tried to run out of the room._

"_Alicia stop!" Hope ran after her. "We need to talk about this. Alicia?" Hope ran down the stairs after Alicia. Bo was coming in the door and seeing the commotion, grabbed Alicia to keep her form running out on them again._

"_What's going on here?" He asked the both of them._

"_NOTHING!" Screamed Alicia._

"_Yeah, right." Bo said still holding on to Alicia. "Hope? You want to explain what's going on here?"_

"_We were discussing Stefano and how Alicia is connected to him." Hope was saying, but Alicia interrupted._

"_I'm not connected to that vile evil man!" She shouted at them._

"_Why don't we all sit down and discuss this rationally." Bo said pulling Alicia over to the couch. _

"_Alicia told me she had information that her family was living here in Salem, but she wasn't kidnapped from them and she'd never been with her family. She was born in Stefano's complex." She retold the tale to Bo. "I'm assuming it was at Maison Blanche?" She asked Alicia._

"_Yes!" Alicia mouthed back. _

"_And, then she ran from the room. I chased after her and you caught her. I believe that's all of it, unless Alicia has more to add." Hope looked at her debatably._

_Alicia sat with her arms folded not saying a word._

"_I see we'll be getting the silent treatment now." Hope said._

"_So who are your parents kid?" Bo questioned. "Are you a Dimera?" _

_Alicia sat up straight stunned that he had the audacity to think she was a Dimera. "How can you even ask that?" She said glaring a Bo._

"_Well, it's not like you've been very forthcoming with us. You evade every question we ask you. You keep running from us. And you keep lying to us.""You think I'm a Dimera?" She asked stunned at the thought. "Do I look like a Dimera to you?" She asked getting frustrated with the conversation. _

"_I dunno." Bo said. "He's got kids all over the world and none of them look alike. So, it's hard to say if you look like a Dimera or not."_

"_I LOOK LIKE MY MOTHER!" She screamed at him. "All you have to do is look at her and you'll see how much we look alike!"_

……

_Vito stood lurking outside the Brady house. He knew the little Bitch would be hiding out here. Stefano would be happy to know that he'd found her. Thanks to that dimwit Higley, he could finish the job and get Alicia back to Dimera. But first, he was going to have a little fun with her and finish what he'd started. He always thought it would be nice to have her. He could never take advantage of her while under Stefano's roof. Now that he had a taste of her, he'd see to it that he'd be her first before he returned her to Dimera_

……

"_Do I know your mother?" Bo asked her._

_Alicia just sat fuming. Her breath coming in harsh spurts. _

_Bo heard a noise that kept him from continuing questioning her. "Hope, did you hear that?"_

"_Yeah." She said._

"_I'm going to go check it out. You stay here with Alicia. Lock the door behind me. I'll be right back." Bo took his gun out and went out the front door. "Who's there?" He asked to the still air._

_Hope did as he said and locked the door. "Alicia, I want you to go upstairs and wait until the coast is clear."_

"_Where are you going?" She looked nervously at Hope. "He said for you to stay here with me."_

"_Just go upstairs and wait for me. I'm going to go out back and circle around the front to see if we can catch whoever is out there. Now go!" She told her. Hope watched her go upstairs and went outside the back way. She came around the front of the house having found no one and came face to face with Bo._

"_Hope? What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay inside with Alicia. Where is she?"_

"_She's upstairs. I guess the noise was a cat or something. Didn't see anything on my way around the house. Guess we're all a little jumpy with Vito escaping."_

"_About that." He said scratching at his forehead. "I got back some DNA results from the victims and Vito wasn't our man. Could just be a copy cat. I don't know, but I still want him locked up for attempted rape on Alicia. Speaking of which, we better get back inside to her." Bo and Hope went back into the house. Hope went upstairs to get Alicia. When she got to her room, she noticed she wasn't there._

"_Bo? Is Alicia down here with you?" She asked racing back down the stairs._

"_Uh, no. I thought you said she was upstairs?"_

"_I told her to wait there for me until I came back. You don't suppose she snuck out again, do you?" She asked._

"_Looks that way. I'll check the usual spots and put out an APB on her. Man why does she keep running?" He ran off to look for Alicia yet again._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As soon as Alicia could no longer see Hope in the backyard, she ducked out the door and ran off in the opposite direction. 'How could he even think I'm a Dimera?' She was so angry with the situation. All they wanted were answers and all she ever wanted was her family. Alicia kept running, looking back over her shoulder every now and again to see if anyone was following. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she needed to get away for awhile to think. She soon found herself in the park and ran straight into Doug and Julie.

"Whoa. Watch out. You should be more careful with where you are going." Doug told her trying to keep her from falling after colliding with him.

"Alicia is it?" Julie asked her.

"Yeah."

"Are you alright darling? You look as though you're running from something. Was anyone following you? I can call Hope or Bo if you want?" She said reaching for her cell phone.

"No! No one was following me. I was just trying to get some air." She said.

"Uh huh. And you were running through the park. Trying to get some exercise as well?" Doug asked her.

"I got into a fight with …with…um." She didn't know what she should call her parents. She couldn't very well come out with my mom and dad.

"With Bo and Hope?" Julie finished for her.

"Yes." She said. "I just needed to get some air to think."

"Do they know where you are?" Julie asked her.

"No. Not exactly. I ran out when they weren't looking." Alicia wanted desperately to talk to someone about everything. Here were her grandparents and they seemed really nice and understanding to her. It just seemed so easy to talk to them.

"I'll tell you what. I'm going to call Hope and let her know you're here with us."

"No. Don't do that." She said cutting Julie off.

"If you'll let me finish. I'm going to call Hope so she doesn't worry about you and you can stay with us for awhile. How's that?" Julie asked her already knowing she'd won with her.

"Okay." She said. "That sounds good. I don't want her to worry about me, but I don't want to go back there just yet."

"I had a feeling you didn't." Julie dialed Hope on her cell and explained to her that Alicia was with her and she was going to spend some time with Julie and Doug to give everyone a break. She also told Hope while Alicia wasn't in ear shot, she would try to talk to her and see if she could find out anything from the girl.

"Okay. It's all set. I talked to Hope and you're coming with us. We were just on our way to look at plans to reopen Doug's Place. You probably don't have any idea what I'm talking about; not being from here and all. But just as well, it will give you a break from all the tension and maybe you'll even come to understand Hope's point of view." She told her. The three of them left and went to Doug's Place. Unbeknownst to them, Vito lurked not too far behind them.

……

"Bo I was just about to call you." Hope pulled him into a hug as he walked in the door. "I just got off the phone with Julie and Alicia is with her and my father. She said she'll keep an eye on her and try to pump her for some information. I know my sister and she can really get you to talk even when you don't want to. I should've thought of that when they were here earlier this morning.""I'm glad that she's okay, but I'm beginning to have a funny feeling about her." He told Hope.

"What do you mean? Exactly?" Hope eyed him a little perplexed at the thought.

"I just don't think we should trust her right now."

"What? Bo! She's not some hardened criminal. She's a young girl who's lost. She has no one to depend on, so of course her attitude would come across as someone who was untrustworthy. She's just a kid." Hope looked at him wondering what he was thinking. "Wait. You don't really think she's a Dimera do you? You can't be serious about that." She said.

"I don't know what to think, Hope. One minute she's being all defensive, the next she's vulnerable, then she's lying and running out on us. What am I supposed to think?" Another vision stopped him. This time he saw more. …Doug, Julie, and Alicia. A loud crash. Dust, smoke and flames. A girls voice screaming. The ceiling crashing down. "Hope!" Bo's face had suddenly paled to a deathly white. "Where did you say your parents were going with Alicia?"

"Bo, what is it?" Hope asked looking worriedly at his whitening face.

"A vision. I need to know where they are now!" He became anguished. Something bad was about to happen and he needed to get there before it did. "Where Hope?"

"Doug's Place. They were going to Doug's Place. What is it Bo?" She asked him more frightened by the moment.

"No time to explain. Come on. We got to go."

……

Doug, Julie, and Alicia went into Doug's Place. Vito hung back and watched them enter.

"Would you look at this place." Doug said.

"I think we have a lot of work to do if we want to reopen." Julie said.

"If we want?" Doug questioned. "Julie this was all your idea."

"Darling, of course I want to reopen. I miss the fun times we had here. I'm just saying it's going to take a little more work than we first expected."

"What was that?" Alicia asked looking around startled.

"What?" Both Doug and Julie said at once.

"That noise." She said looking annoyed.

"I didn't hear…" Crash! "That sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Stay here. I'm going to go check it out." Doug went to the kitchen when an explosion erupted sending him reeling back to the ground.

"Oh my love!." Julie screamed racing to help him.

"Fire!" Alicia yelled pointing at the kitchen door. Smoke and flames were moving quickly into the main lobby beginning to surround them.

"Go get help!" Julie screamed at Alicia. She tried pulling Doug away from the flames. Alicia stood frozen watching Julie struggle to move Doug to the front door. "Alicia help me." Julie yelled back to her. Before Alicia could move away from the kitchen door, another explosion went off louder than the first. Alicia screamed as the ceiling came crashing down on her. Julie had managed to drag Doug to the door. When she looked back to where Alicia was, beams and debris blocked her view of the girl. Alicia lay trapped under the debris, the force of the explosion had knocked her unconscious.

"Alicia?" Julie called to her, but no response came back. The dust from the debris falling and the smoke was making it hard to breathe. Julie had to pull Doug outside and try to get some help for Alicia. "Alicia!" She yelled again in between coughs. "If you can hear me, I'm going to try to get help. Stay where you are and don't move."

Bo and Hope arrived just minutes after the second explosion.

"Daddy!" Hope screamed seeing Julie struggling to pull him outside. Bo ran over to help her. "Oh God, please let him be alright." She pulled out her cell and started calling for help.

"Hope call the paramedics and get back up!" Bo hollered over his shoulder.

Hope was just hanging up the phone when movement to her right caught her attention. She looked around and noticed a black SUV driving away from the scene. She pulled out a notebook and quickly jotted the license plate number down.

"Alicia." She hadn't thought about her when they first arrived and she saw her father. But now that the shock of everything was dimming and her wits had returned, she remembered Alicia was with her parents. She raced over to Julie and asked her, "Julie, where's Alicia? I thought she was with you. Where is she?" Hope was becoming frantic.

"She's in there." Julie said pointing at the wreckage. "The ceiling caved in on her. I couldn't get a response from her. She's trapped under some beams."

"Hope, you stay here with your dad and Julie. I'm going to check on Alicia. Let the rescue team and paramedics know where we are when they get here." Bo said running into the smoke infested building. "Alicia!" He called. The flames were all around. He couldn't see anything as he made his way further inside. "Alicia? Can you hear me?" He yelled to her. The smoke was making him cough. "Alicia?" He yelled again. Bo noticed her hand sticking out from under the pile of debris. He went to her and tried lifting the ceiling beams off her.

"Commissioner, you in here?" An officer yelled to him.

"Back here! I need some help!" Bo yelled back. "How'd you get here so fast?" He asked.

"I was driving by the area when I heard some explosions going off. I called in for help, they should be here any minute." He said reaching Bo.

"Give me a hand with this beam." Bo told him. They both struggled with the beam lifting it up and off Alicia. Bo picked her up and carried her out of the building. No sooner than they had all gotten out, when the roof caved in.

"That's what I call close." Bo said. Hope ran to him and helped him get Alicia to the waiting paramedics.

…**At the hospital…**

"Hope your dad is in recovery if you'd like to go see him. He has a slight concussion, but he'll be just fine." Kayla told a relieved Hope.

"Thank god. What about Alicia?" She asked.

"She has a broken arm, but I'm afraid the trauma to her head has caused her to slip into a coma."

"What? Can I see her?" She asked.

"Of course. She's in ICU." She told her and Hope raced off to check on Alicia.

"Um what's up with that? I thought Hope would want to check on her dad. Who is this girl exactly?" She asked Bo looking puzzled.

"That's the million dollar question." He told her. "Hey Kay, I need you to do something for me that might compromise your position as chief of staff."

"Bo?" Her curiosity roused.

"Can you run a DNA test on Alicia and maybe run it through the database for a possible match to anyone here in Salem?" He asked her.

"I can't do that! I'd be breaking too many rules."

"Kay, I wouldn't be asking if it weren't important. Look I need to make sure she isn't related to the Dimeras."

"What? You think she's a Dimera?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure. That's where you come in if you're willing to help. The little I know of her makes me question her relationship to Stefano. She says her family is here in Salem. I'm hoping if you run the DNA test, we'll find out who they are and put an end to this. Please Kay. I really need your help." He pleaded with her.

Kayla rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, alright. You know I'm only doing this because you're my brother and I love you."

"Thanks Kay." Bo said hugging her.

"What's going on?" Hope asked having returned from seeing Alicia. "Kayla?"

"I've got to run." Kayla said not answering her sister-in-law.

"Kayla wait." Kayla didn't hear her. Hope turned to Bo. "Bo? What's going on?" She asked him.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that Brady. I know when you're up to something."

"She's just going to run some more tests on Alicia. I know how worried you are and soon we'll have some answers." He told Hope.

"What kind of tests?" She asked doubting what he was saying was true.

"I don't know. I'm not the doctor." He said looking as innocently as he could.

"Okay. I'll let it go for now. I'm going to see my dad. You coming?"

"Right behind you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Daddy, how are you feeling?" Hope asked Doug.

"Hello Princess. I'm fine. Just a bump on the head. I always knew this hard head was good for something." He told her.

"That's not funny. I was really worried about you. _We_ were really worried about you." She corrected herself looking over at Julie. "Kayla says he has a slight concussion and he can go home soon."

"Yes. He'll be going home soon, darling." Julie said. "How's Alicia doing? I didn't get to ask her anything before all chaos broke out over there." She asked Hope.

"Alicia is in a coma. Kayla's running some more tests on her." She explained. Bo shifted his feet feeling awkward with the lie. "I went to see her. She's hooked up to all these monitors. I wish there was something I could do for her." She said.

"You have really grown attached to this girl haven't you?" Doug asked her.

"I don't know why, but I feel this connection to her. I think we may have been together at Maison Blanche when Stefano held me captive."

"Do you think he was keeping her captive as well?" Julie asked her.

"I do. Bo seems to think she may be a Dimera." Hope looked over at Bo.

"I don't know what to think. There's just more than meets the eye with her." Bo said.

"But a Dimera, Bo? She's such a sweet girl. She kind of reminds me of Hope at that age. Strong and independent." Julie said.

"Is that how you remember me at that age? Seems we had quite a few fights back then." Hope laughed.

"You went through your rebellious years chasing after this guy over here." Julie said pointing at Bo. "But everything worked out in the end."

"So Bo, have you heard anything about the explosion." Doug asked trying to change the subject. "Do you think there was some foul play?"

"The bomb squad is looking into it as we speak. I don't think it was an accident. That place was blown intentionally. Makes me wonder who would want to do something like that and why. Or maybe it was set to take out someone." Bo said.

"You're talking about Alicia? Aren't you?" Hope asked him.

"It just seems to me wherever she goes trouble isn't far behind."

"I'm going to go check on Alicia. Daddy, I'm glad you're going to be alright. I'll stop by again before you're released." Hope kissed her father's cheek and turned to walk out of the room.

"Hope?" Bo grabbed her arm stopping her. "I'm just trying to figure this out. I don't know what to think and we can't get any answers from her right now."

"I know. But right now, she's the one lying in a hospital bed in a coma. I just need to go check on her." Hope kissed Bo and left to see Alicia.

……

Hope sat by Alicia's bed lightly stroking her hair. "What is it about you that makes me want to protect you?" The day's activities were beginning to take their toll on Hope. She sat back in the chair and fell into a restless sleep. The room was dark, but she could hear someone crying. Hope rose from her bed and felt her way in the dark for the doorknob. She definitely heard someone crying and was trying to find the source of the cry. Footsteps ran down the hall just outside her room.

"Mommy, help me! Help me Mommy!" Hope's heart raced. That was her little girl crying for her. She yanked open the door and raced after the voices coming from down the hall. "MOMMY!" Came her daughter's cry again. 'What are they doing to her?' Hope ran just in time to see her baby fall down the stairs. She couldn't get to her in time to keep her from falling. A man grabbed her, trying to keep her from going to her daughter. She turned and saw his face.

"Vito!" Hope screamed out.

"Hope? Are you all right?" Bo had just entered Alicia's room and heard Hope cry out Vito's name.

"Bo! It was him. He was there." She cried. Bo had no idea what she was talking about.

"Vito was at the explosion?" He asked her.

"No. I don't know. He was in the dream. He kept me from going to Alicia." Hope was agitated now. "I could hear her crying for me and I tried to get to her, but he wouldn't let me."

"It was just a dream."

"No!" Hope yelled cutting him off. "It wasn't a dream. The other night when I dreamed it, I thought it was Ciara. But it wasn't. It was Alicia. We were at Maison Blanche. I remember now. Bo? I remember her." Hope was crying clinging to Bo for support.

"Hope, come sit down. Tell me about this dream." Bo led her over to the chair. "What did you see?"

"I was sleeping and I heard someone crying. I went to go see who it was and saw her… Bo I saw her fall down the stairs. And Vito… Vito was the guy who grabbed me from going to her. I know it was him. I'd stake my life on it." Hope was gripping his arm. "The other night when I had the dream, it was confusing. I didn't see her face. I saw her little hand holding onto her dolly. She looked so lifeless. Oh Bo." Hope was sobbing as Bo pulled her into his embrace.

"Are you sure it was her?" Bo asked her.

"Yes. It was Alicia. She was crying for me…" Hope stopped suddenly realizing what Alicia had called her in the dream. "Bo? I think she's our daughter."

"What? I..I" Bo couldn't get the words out. "How…she…daughter?"

"Yes. Bo, I think she's our daughter. That's why she's here in Salem. That's why I have this unbelievable need to protect her. It's the same way I feel about Ciara and Shawn. The same way I felt about Zach."

"Yeah but Hope, how can she be our daughter?" He asked still stunned by the thought.

"I don't know. I just know that she is." Hope didn't know how to explain it.

"Well we'll know for sure shortly." Bo said.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Uh… those tests Kayla is running are DNA tests."

"What? You had her run a DNA test on Alicia? What for?'

"I wanted to make sure she wasn't a Dimera." He told her.

"She isn't."

"Well I guess we'll know for sure with the test results."

"BO! I know she's my daughter. I feel it in my heart."

"Fancy Face, I need proof. I can't go by what you feel to be the truth."

"You did not just go there. How many times have I been right about my feelings? Wasn't I positive that you were Zach's father and he turned out to be?"

"Yes, but…"

"But nothing. I know she's our daughter."

"Bo can I speak to you?" Kayla appeared in the doorway.

"It's okay Kay, you can talk in front of Hope. She knows."

"Umm… it's not that. I think I should talk to you alone." Kayla wasn't sure how to go about telling them the results of the DNA.

"Kay it's okay. Anything you have to tell me about the results you can say in front of Hope." Bo told her motioning to her to come in.

"Well the good news is that she's not a Dimera." She said hesitating to go on. "Um.. I did find a match in the system. But I don't know…I don't see how."

"She's a Brady, isn't she?" Hope finished for her.

"How do you know that?" Kayla asked astonished.

"Wait she is?" Bo asked stunned by the results. "She's our daughter?" Bo asked his sister again.

"Uh, yes. But I'm curious. How did you know that Hope? And you didn't Bo?" She asked them.

"I remembered her just now." Hope told Kayla.

"So when did this…I mean how was she…I." Kayla scratched at her head confused about the news.

"I don't know when or how or where…well the where would be Maison Blanche." Hope told her. "I'm guessing that since she's Bo's that I must have been pregnant or gotten pregnant when we were on the island. So that would be 20 years ago?" She said figuring out the math.

"So now what?" Bo asked.

……

"Hey Shane. I was just going to call you to let you know your man picked up the disc. How soon do you think it'll be before he can crack it?' Bo had just walked into the precinct when the phone rang. Shane's English accent was on the other end.

"We'll know more once we've had a look at the encryption on it. I'm sure you're in a hurry to find out what information the disc might contain on those years Hope had gone missing."

"That and something else." Bo said.

"What? Is there something you're not telling me?" Shane asked him.

"Yeah." Bo took a deep breath. "I just found out tonight that I have a daughter."

"What in bloody hell are you talking about? And for that matter, how is it connected to the disc?" Shane blurted into the phone.

"Apparently Hope and I have a kid who's recently surfaced here in Salem. Hope had a few memories of her form when she was held prisoner by Stefano. I had Kayla run some DNA tests on her to find out who she was. Turns out she's mine and Hope's."

"Bo, are you sure?" Shane asked him.

"Uh…I trust Kayla. She wouldn't lie about this." Bo was puzzled.

"I'm not talking about Kayla. Stefano has men all over that could have easily hacked into the computer system to change the results." Shane explained to him.

"Look Governor, Hope remembers her. There's no doubt in her mind that Alicia is her child. The DNA just proved that she is." Bo told him. "I'd like to know if there's any information on that disc that concerns my…daughter."

"As soon as I know anything I'll let you know. You have my word on it." Shane was about to hang up when he received an urgent message. "Look Bo, I have some new information coming in now. I'll ring you up as soon as I get all the information. And I'll see you in a few days."

"Later." Bo hung up the phone. 'What now? Hope it isn't bad news.'


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Hey Bo. You heading out?" Roman had just entered the office.

"Yeah, I was just going to check in at the hospital and then head home to see my girls."

"The hospital? What's going on?" Roman asked him.

"I guess you haven't heard. I'm a dad. Again." Bo told him.

"Come again?"

"Apparently Hope and I had a child some 20 years ago who's recently resurfaced here in Salem."

"What the hell?" Roman was stunned to say the least.

"It gets better. Stefano has had her all these years." Bo told him.

"Damn. Will that man ever stop messing with the Brady's." Roman was confused. "You said you had to check in at the hospital. Umm who's in the hospital?"

"My daughter, Alicia. She was with Doug and Julie over at Doug's Place when the explosion hit and knocked her unconscious. She's in a coma."

"So how did you find out she was your daughter?" He asked Bo.

"Uh can't get into any details on that. Just trust me. She is." Bo didn't want to get Kayla into any trouble with their by-the-book brother. "I'm going to go and see if there's any changes. Hope was with her when I left."

"Before you go, I think there's something you should know." Roman stopped him from leaving.

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" He asked his brother.

"That license plate that Hope pulled off the SUV, belongs to Officer Higley."

"Off…HIGLEY! What the Hell is going on here?" Bo was upset. "Have you questioned him?"

"He claims his vehicle was stolen. But, get this, he never reported it stolen." Roman was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hope knows who Higley is. She said she didn't recognize the guy driving the vehicle."

"There's more. I think we might have a lead on the perp we've been looking for. There was another rape tonight. Don't worry." Roman could see Bo getting anxious over the news. "She's not dead. Reynolds is questioning her now. With any luck we may have some evidence that leads us to this creep."

"Looks like he slipped up tonight. I'd like to see this guy put away so the city can be safe again."

"Bo, I've been doing some investigating on this and there's something interesting I've come across in the files." Roman was telling him as Reynolds came into the office.

"Reynolds? Was the victim able to give you a description of the guy? Any leads to go on?" Bo grilled him.

"She was a little shaken and kind of sketchy with the details. Higley might have gotten more out of her. He was at the scene when I arrived. She didn't say much to me once I got there." Reynolds relayed the facts.

"Thanks Reynolds. Is Higley here?" Bo asked him.

"No. He's still at the hospital trying to get more information out of the girl." Reynolds left the office.

"Bo, I don't like the sound of that." Roman told his brother.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Like I was telling you before Reynolds interrupted, I came across a common denominator in all the crime scenes.

"What's that?"

"Higley has been the first one on the scene in every one of those rape/murder victims crime scenes. Something's fishy here."

"I don't like the sound of this. Seems to me we got a crooked cop on our hands. Do you have and evidence that could link him to any of the scenes?" Bo asked him.

"Nothing so far. He must have cleaned up any evidence before anymore of our guys arrived on the scene."

"Man. That's just great. So we have nothing." Bo punched his fist down on the desk. "I need to get out of here. Call me if you hear anything else."

"No problem Bro. You headed to the hospital?" Roman asked him.

"No. I need to go clear my head and get some perspective on all this." Bo left the office. His cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Bo, it's me Shane. I just got in to Salem. Can you meet me?"

"Yeah I can meet you. Name the place. I…I thought you weren't going to be here for a few days?" Bo asked him.

"I got in last night. I've been working on a case. I couldn't let you know my where abouts. But it seems I don't have a choice. I've got some urgent information that I need to share with you. Why don't we meet at the hotel? I'm in room 226." Shane seemed worried.

"I'm on my way." Bo left to go meet Shane. He called Hope on his cell. "Hey Fancy Face. Sorry I missed you. I'm going to be late tonight. I'll try calling you later. I love you." Bo said as he hung up the phone.

……

"Shane! So good to see you man." Bo grabbed Shane in a hug.

"Bo. Good to see you. Can I get you some tea?" He asked.

"No, thanks. So what's this information that's so pertinent you needed to see me right away?"

"My guy found some information on the disc that I think you should see." Shane told him.

"Already? Man that was fast. So what is it?" He asked again.

"Now, it's not everything. But, we did find a few things. Why don't you come sit down here and have a look for yourself." Bo and Shane sat on the couch facing Shane's laptop. "I've got it right here."

Bo sat staring at the computer as images of his wife were playing on the screen. Hope was sitting in a rocking chair holding a baby and singing a lullaby to the child. Another video started. Hope and a toddler were playing with blocks on the floor. The little girl was calling to Hope. "Mommy!" Her hands upraised to Hope wanting to be picked up.

"That has to be Alicia. It looks just like her." Bo was saying as another image came on the screen. A young Alicia was learning kick boxing. Another image of her now a few years older training on a shooting range. "What the hell?" Bo asked scratching at his head. "What is this? Why does it keep jumping?"

"Like I said Bo, we haven't gotten all the information off the disc yet. This is just what we've ascertained so far. "I believe Stefano was training her for his own use as a weapon."

"No. It can't be. She was running from him. That's what she told us. She can't be his soldier." Bo sat there stunned. "Man I got to …I need to tell Hope. We need to find out more. How soon before your guys can get anymore information from this disc?" Bo wanted answers and with Alicia in a coma, he wasn't going to be able to question her.

…**At the hospital…**

Hope sat by Alicia's side lightly stroking her hair. "I'm sorry. I know now why you've been so mad at me. You must have felt so betrayed." Tears were slowly beginning to stream out of the corners of her eyes. "I should've been there for you. My baby. You were so young when Stefano took you from me. You must have been so frightened, wondering where your mommy was. Thinking I had left you." Hope laid her head on Alicia's shoulder and cried. She couldn't bear the pain she felt over abandoning her child. "I should have known you were out there. I should have felt you in my heart even if I couldn't remember you because of what Stefano did to me. You were just a baby." She continued to sob. She held on to Alicia. "I'm so sorry. My poor baby. I'm so sorry." Hope cried herself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Hey kid. Is Hope upstairs?" Bo had just returned home and saw Chelsea sitting in the living room.

"No. Hope is at the hospital." Chelsea told him. "So where have you been all night?" She asked her father.

"I was working on a case. When did Hope leave for the hospital. I called and left her several messages, but she never got back to me." Bo was worried about Hope.

"She's been at the hospital all night." Chelsea told her dad.

"Huh? She never came home? What about Ciara? Is she still at your Grandma Caroline's?"

"No. Hope called me and asked if I would pick her up and stay here with her until you got home. So I've been here all night with Ciara. This case must be pretty important to keep you out all night." Chelsea said.

"Yeah, it is. Thanks for staying with Ciara."

"Daddy, Daddy. I missed you." Ciara came running down the stairs and jumped into her fathers arms.

"Hey my little sugar bear." He said grabbing his daughter and lifting her into a bear hug.

"Daddy? Where's Mommy?" She looked up sadly at her father.

"Don't you worry about mommy. She'll be home soon." He held onto Ciara.

"When's Mommy coming home, Daddy?" Ciara persisted.

"Hey, I have an idea. How about you go upstairs and get changed and we can go see Mommy." Bo said trying to soothe her.

"Okay." She said excitedly. Ciara raced back upstairs.

"I'll go help her." Chelsea went up after Ciara.

"Thanks kid." Bo went to check his messages. "Nothing. Hope, why didn't you come home last night?" Bo paced around the room waiting for Ciara to return, He was anxious to see Hope and fill her in on everything.

"Dad, you're taking Ciara to see Hope at the hospital?"

"Mommy's in the hospital? What's wrong with Mommy?" Ciara asked with tears in her eyes.

"No, Ciara. Mommy isn't in the hospital. She's just visiting someone who is." Chelsea said trying to cover her slip up.

"Come here sugar bear." Bo reached out his hand to Ciara. "Let's go see Mommy and we can have some breakfast. How does that sound?"

"Good."

"Good." He tickled her belly and she squealed with glee.

…**At the hospital…**

Hope stirred lifting her head off the bed. She rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease the pain of lying her head in a crooked position all night. She looked over at Alicia who sill lay in the same position as the night before. "Still no change I see."

"Hey Hope. You been here all night?" Kayla was coming in to check Alicia's vitals.

"Yes. I couldn't leave her here alone." Hope told her.

"She wasn't alone. There's a whole staff here, not to mention the guard Bo has stationed outside her room."

"It's not the same. I've already abandoned her once. I won't do it again." Hope reached over and took Alicia's hand in hers.

"Hope. What are you talking about? You didn't abandon her.""Yes I did!" Hope said cutting her off.

"Hope, you had no memory of her. You didn't abandon her." Kayla tried to make sense of it all.

"But I did. I did. I might have had my memories erased by Stefano, but I should have known in my heart that something was missing. I should've been able to remember her when I got my memories back. Why didn't I?" Hope was crying now. She couldn't stop blaming herself for missing all these years with her daughter.

"Hope, come on. Even when you were starting to remember your life, you had trouble remembering everything. We all helped you. You never remembered anything from the time Stefano had you prisoner. Except for the time you went to France right before Princess Gina kidnapped you, you haven't had a single memory of those years. You can't blame yourself for this." Kayla continued to try to get Hope to see that she wasn't the one to blame here. She was a victim too.

"But I should've known." A knock interrupted them. Kayla went to the door a little puzzled.

"Bo? Why are you knocking?" She asked him.

"Would you mind getting Hope and telling her to come out here." Bo asked her.

"Why? Just come in….Oh." She said when she saw Ciara standing behind her brother. "Hope, can you come here?" She asked her over her shoulder.

"What? Who is it?" Hope asked turning her head to see.

"There's a little girl here that wants to see her Mommy." Kayla told her.

Hope wiped away her tears and put on a happy face. "Ciara! My sweet baby girl. How are you. Mommy missed you." She pulled Ciara into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Hi, Mommy. We're going to have breakfast. Want to come?" She asked Hope.

"Of course I do. I love spending time with you." Hope squeezed her tight. "Kay, will you call the minute there's any change? I won't be long, but if anything changes I want to know."

"Of course I will. I'll make sure the staff knows to call you if there are any changes. Don't worry. I'll be doing my rounds and I'll keep checking in on her. Go be with your family and get a bite to eat. You need a break from this place." Kayla gave her a hug and went off on her rounds.

"Ok. Let's go." Bo pulled Hope close to him and the three left to go eat breakfast.

…**Brady Pub…**

"Now that Ciara isn't here, I have something I need to tell you." Bo told Hope about the break in the case and how Higley may be connected to the murders of the rape victims. "When Roman first told me about this, I wasn't thinking straight. Now that I've had time to wrap my head around this, I think Higley is crooked. He was with Reynolds the day Vito escaped. And his vehicle was the one you saw leaving Doug's Place. There's got to be a connection here that I'm just not seeing. With him being the first guy on every one of those crime scenes, I have a feeling he might be the guy who's been attacking all these young girls."

"I can't even begin to think of how this could effect everyone. I mean think about it. Just how safe are the citizens going to feel when they find out one of Salem's finest has been the one raping, beating, and killing all these young girls." Hope was horrified at the thought.

"I know what you mean. The newspapers are going to have a field day with this….Hi Ciara." Bo stopped talking about the case. Ciara had just come back from visiting her grandma in the kitchen.

"Did grandma give you a cookie?" Hope asked her as she wiped the evidence off her daughters mouth.

"Yes. Can I have another one?" She innocently asked.

"How about you bring one to school with you for snack? Does that sound good?" Hope asked her.

"Yes. I'm going to tell Grandma right now." Ciara raced back to the kitchen to find her grandmother."Brady? You okay?" Hope was worried about Bo. "You look like you have a lot on your mind and it's not all about this case either. What's bothering you?" Hope asked him.

"I just got some things on my mind." He said.

"BO?" Hope raised her eyebrows with that knowing look. "What are you keeping from me? We said no secrets. Remember?"

"I remember. I just want to have more information before I bring you in on it. How was your night?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Bo! Don't change the subject on me Brady. What's going on. This is obviously eating at you. What is it?' She pressed.

"Do you remember me telling you about a disc that was left on Abe's desk? Well, there's some information on it about those missing years of yours." He said.

"This is about me and you didn't want to tell me about it?" She asked him. "Why not?"

"Hope, I wasn't trying to keep it from you. There just isn't all that much information just yet. Shane's here and he and the ISA are working on it. So far, they've only managed to pull some footage of you and Alicia when you were at Maison Blanche. But it's just bits and pieces of you and her."

"There's video of Alicia when she was a baby?" Hope asked. "Can I see it? It might help jog more of my memories."

"I'll give Shane a call and see if we can stop by to watch it. Hopefully he's got some more information for us. We can drop Ciara off on the way." Bo was talking to her when Hope got up suddenly. "Hope? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to call the hospital and check on Alicia." She went to call Kayla.

"Hope, Kayla said she'd call if there's anymore news. Hope?" Bo tried to stop her.

"Bo, I'll be right back. I just need to check on her."

……

"Shane!" Hope kissed Shane's cheek and hugged him. "It's so good to see you. How long has it been?" She laughed.

"Too long. How are you? You look great."

"I'd be a lot happier if I could remember what happened all those years ago."

"Bo filled me in on everything. I'm sure you're anxious to view what little video we have of you on the disc. My men are working on breaking the rest of the encryption. Can I get you anything? Tea?" He asked her.

"No thank you, Shane. I'd really like to have a look at the video."

"Of course. I have it right here." He said pointing at the his laptop. Hope went over and started watching the clips of video.

"Oh, look at how tiny she was. Those little hands." She watched herself rocking Alicia. "I don't remember any of this. I don't remember her being that small. Look Bo, she looks a little like Ciara did when she was a baby." Hope continued watching until she heard Alicia crying out 'Mommy!' Then she went into a trance like state remembering another time Alicia was calling for her. She saw her falling down the stairs and hitting her head. She saw her lifeless body lying at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hope? Are you alright?" Bo asked her. He was worried when he saw her stare out at nothing and she wouldn't answer him. He grew even more worried when he saw the tears coming out the corner of her eyes. "Hope?"

"Something happened that day." Hope was still thinking about the memory.

"What day?" Bo was confused. "Are you remembering the day you played blocks with her?" He asked.

"No." Hope shook her head. "It triggered a memory. The same memory I keep having of her."

"The one you told me about? The nightmare you keep having of her?" Bo asked.

"Yes. I think it's the last day I saw her. I was so afraid when I saw her fall down the stairs and then Vito was there and he wouldn't let me go to her. I think that might be why I'm blocking it out. I think it's the last day I saw her." Hope was trying to make sense of everything. "Is there any more, Shane?"

"Uh yeah." He looked over to Bo to make sure it was alright for Hope to see the rest.

"Is it bad?" Hope asked looking from Bo's face to Shane's.

"Hope, maybe you ought to wait until there's more information before you watch the rest." Bo told her,

"Why? What is it?" She asked him. "BO? Why don't you want me to see what's on the disc? What is it?" She pestered him.

"Stefano was training Alicia." He told her.

"What do you mean…training her?" Hope asked.

"We don't know for sure. He was teaching her kick boxing and how to aim a gun." Bo told her. "You really don't want to see it. We should wait until Shane's men get some more information."

"Teaching her how to aim a gun…Wha..I …why would he do something like that?" Hope stuttered.

"Hope. We don't know anything for sure. Right now it looks like he was training her to be one of his little soldiers. But we don't have all the information." Bo was trying to keep Hope from getting to upset. "Just wait until there's more information to go on."

"She was petrified of Stefano's men finding her. There's no way he could've been training her to be one of his soldiers. I don't believe it! I won't believe it. Look at these videos. She's an innocent little girl. She can't be working for Stefano. She was afraid of him." Hope was irate.

"Hope. Calm down. We don't know anything for sure right now." Bo grabbed her arm and tried to get her to sit back down.

"But Bo, how can you even think it?" She said.

"Fancy face, we've had a lot of questions ourselves. She's lied to us, she's run off on us, she's been…""What Bo? What has she been?" Hope cut him off. "She's a scared little girl who's been kept from her family all her life. How do you expect her to act? She was terrified of Stefano. That's why she lied to us. That's why she wouldn't tell us anything. She wanted to feel safe and we couldn't do that for her. I couldn't…" Hope started crying.

"Hope." Bo took her in his arms and comforted her. "It's okay. She's going to pull through this."

"How do you know?" She said pulling away from him.

"She's a Brady." He smiled at her. "Besides she's my daughter. She's got that stubborn Irish streak in her. She'll pull through just fine. You can never keep a Brady down for long." Bo pulled her back into his embrace. "I know in my heart that she'll pull through."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

"_Hi Kayla, has there been any change on Alicia?" Hope was anxious to hear something about Alicia. Anything! She wanted Alicia to wake up, so she could tell her how sorry she was for not being there for her._

_Kayla scratched at her head. "There's still no change Hope. I'm sorry." _

"_I'm going to go see her." Hope was saying, but Kayla stopped her from going._

"_Um, you can't do that." Kayla told her._

"_Why not? There isn't anything wrong is there? You just said there was no change." Hope was frantic._

"_No. It's not that. I just sent her down for some more tests. She'll be back in her room shortly. It's just procedure with a brain trauma." Kayla reassured her. "Why don't we go grab a coffee and talk."_

"_You're sure there's nothing wrong?"_

"_There's always a chance that a coma could mean more, which is why I wanted to run more tests. I'm not taking any chances with her. Don't worry, Hope. I'm sure she'll be just fine." Kayla squeezed Hope's arm. "Come on. Let's go get that coffee."_

"_Sure. You're positive nothing is wrong?" Hope kept asking._

"_Hope? What is it? You can't still be blaming yourself for abandoning her. That's Stefano's doing. You had no control over that." Kayla reassured her._

"_I just feel like I should've been able to remember her the first time I set eyes on her. Why didn't I know who she was? How come she didn't look familiar to me. My God she's the spitting image of me. She has Bo's eyes. She, she…."_

"_Hope, stop beating yourself up over this. When she wakes up…" Kayla was saying._

"_If she wakes up." Hope told her._

"_When she wakes up." Kayla corrected her. "You will be there for her. Maybe with her help, you'll be able to remember what happened all those years ago."_

"_Doctor Johnson!" Nurse Betty called out to her. "I've been looking all over for you. You're needed down in x-ray. It's concerning…um a patient." She ended._

"_Is it Alicia Brady?" Kayla asked and Nurse Betty nodded yes. "What is it?"_

"_I'm not sure. Dr. Baker is looking for you. He says it's urgent that you come right away."_

"_Kayla? What is it?" Hopes grew more worried by the moment._

"_Hope don't worry." She said squeezing her arm. "I'm sure it's nothing. I have to go, but I will keep you posted. You'll be the first to know once I know." Kayla raced off following Nurse Betty to find Dr. Baker._

"_I need to call Bo." Hope left to call home._

……

"_Bo wait up." Roman was rushing to catch up to his brother._

"_Hey Roman, what's up?" He said._

"_I've got some more information and I don't think you're going to be happy."_

"_What kind of information?" Bo asked._

"_Why don't we go into your office where we can have some privacy." Roman ushered him to the door._

"_That bad, huh?" Bo asked._

"_I took a sample of the DNA found on our latest victim down to the lab. It matches Higley's. He's our guy. He's the maniac that's been out there raping and killing all these girls. This last one, Shannon, is scared out of her mind. And no wonder why. Higley was the one questioning her. It's more likely he was threatening to keep her quiet. She's too afraid to give any details of what happened. Good thing we got a break on the DNA."_

"_Man, that's just great!" Bo was angry. "Here we are trying to reassure the public that we have everything under control and we're going to make an arrest soon. It turns out the guy we're looking for just happens to be one of our guys." Bo threw a pile of papers off his desk. "That son of a… When I get my hands on him, I'm going to…"_

"_You're not going to do anything. He'll be arrested and put behind bars where he belongs. Let the justice system serve it's purpose." Roman was saying._

"_The justice system? That same justice system that has let Dimera get off for years."_

"_This is more than just Higley being guilty. What does Stefano have to do with this?" Roman asked._

"_Arrgh." Bo rubbed at his face. "That man kept yet another child of mine away from me. There's not a damn thing I can do about it. He had her locked up for years. Why? Chelsea was taken away, but she was adopted by parents who loved her. Alicia. Man what did he do to her?"_

"_Bo, take it easy. I know you're upset, but you have to think about your family. You can't do anything crazy right now. You wouldn't want to lose your Commissioner title now would you?"_

"_Ro.. What the hell? I know what I have to do. I'm not going to go running off after that man and give him the justice he deserves. Right now I want to deal with Higley. Has he been given his rights?" Bo asked him._

"_Yeah. He's down in the holding cell now. Do you want me to go get him?" Roman asked him._

"_I… hang on." Bo's cell was going off. "It's Hope. I got to take this." He waved Roman out. "Hope? What is it? Is there news on Alicia?"_

"_Bo, I think you should come to the hospital. There's something wrong. Kayla was running more tests on her and something's wrong. I don't know. Just get here as soon as you can. I need you Brady." Hope hung up with Bo._

"_Bo, did you want me to get Higley now?" Roman asked as he saw his brother emerge from the office._

"_It'll have to wait. Take care of it for me. There's something wrong with Alicia. I've got to get over to the hospital." Bo was running out of the office._

"_Keep me posted little brother." Roman hollered after him._

…_**Back at the hospital…**_

"_Hope? Is there any news?" Bo ran to Hope and pulled her into his arms._

"_No. Kayla's still with Dr. Baker." She told him._

"_Kay." Bo saw his sister and pulled away from Hope. "What's wrong?" He asked._

"_Umm… I don't know how to say this._

"_Just say it." Bo pressed._

"_We ran some x-rays on Alicia. There's some swelling on the brain. She's going to need surgery to drain the swelling." Kayla looked down at her papers. "Hope… I don't know what to say. I know I said everything would be alright, but I …I'm sorry. It's worse than we thought. We'll need to operate right away. You'll have to sign some forms."_

"_Whatever we have to do. Who's doing the surgery?" Bo asked her._

"_We have a great specialist that was here at a convention. He's tops in his field. I've known him for years. He's really good Bo. You don't have to worry." Kayla reassured him._

"_So who is he?" Bo asked her again._

"_Dr. Winston. Trust me Bo, he's the best."_

"_Where are the papers we have to sign?" Hope asked._

"_Come with me." Kayla motioned for them to follow her._

**……**

"_I wonder what's taking so long?" Hope asked for the tenth time as she paced back and forth along the hall outside Alicia's room._

"_Hope, Kayla will let us know the minute she has news." Bo tried to calm her. "Come here." He pulled her into his embrace. "She's a tough kid. She'll pull through this." He kissed the top of her silky brown hair._

"_I just want to know that she's ok. Why is it taking so long? She's been in surgery for four hours." She hugged him tighter._

"_Hope… Kayla would tell us if there was a complication. She also said this surgeon is the top in his field. I don't think we have anything to worry about." Bo continued to hold Hope, his hand stroking her back. _

"_Bo Hope, she's out of the surgery. She's going to be alright. It was a little touch and go there for awhile. But she made it through the surgery and her vitals are looking good. She's in recovery right now, but they'll be wheeling her up here soon." _

"_Thanks Kayla. Can I see her?" Hope asked._

"_Ok. But only for a few minutes. She's still recovering from the surgery." Kayla brought Bo and Hope to see Alicia._

"_Hope?" Bo wondered why Hope stopped in the doorway. "Are you okay?" He asked her._

"_I just…she looks so…I..I" She couldn't speak. Her daughter lay in the bed hooked up to all these machines with her head bandaged. She looked so helpless and small._

"_Hey, it's ok. I'm right here. Come on. Let's go see our daughter." Bo guided Hope into the room._

"_I don't like seeing her like this. It brings back too many painful memories." Hope was telling Bo._

"_Hope?" Bo asked curiously. "You're having more memories?"_

"_More of the same." Hope reached down to brush a strand of hair out of Alicia's face. "I keep seeing her lying at the bottom of the stairs, her little body so lifeless." Hope choked up on her last words. Her little girl had suffered so much and here she was still suffering. _

"_Hey Hope." Bo pulled her close. "Kayla said she's going to be fine. She's right here where you can see her. Stefano can't hurt her anymore. I won't let him." He kissed Hope's hair and ran his arms around her waist. Bo stood there looking at their daughter realizing for the first time that she was theirs and she was all grown up. He had missed out on all the years of watching her take her first steps and say her first words. He didn't get to pick her up when she was hurt and make it all better. He didn't get to rock her and sing her lullaby's. This was his daughter and Stefano had robbed him of all those years. He was angry and he wanted revenge. "Hope? You going to be alright?""As long as I have you." She turned to face him and met his lips with hers. "I love you, Brady."_

"_I love you too. And you will always have me. There's no question about it. I just need to get back to the office and I want to make sure that you're going to be okay for awhile without me here." He ran his hand up the side of her face gently caressing her cheek. "Fancy Face, there's been a break in the case. Higley is our man. I want to read him the riot act."_

"_Of course you have to go. I understand." She squeezed Bo tight in a hug. "Don't let go just yet." Hope clung to him like it was a matter of life and death. "I just need to feel your arms around me a few minutes longer." Hope breathed in the scent of his cologne her hands clinging to the sleeve of his shirt._

"_Hope? I can stay if you need me. I just want to get this case wrapped up. But, if you need me to stay I'll have Roman take care of it." He gently pulled her away from him so he could look in her eyes. "You mean everything to me." He pulled her into a kiss._

"_Break it up." Kayla jokingly said as she entered the room. "I know you want to stay with Alicia, Hope, but I need to check on her now. Umm why don't the two of you go grab some coffee and when you get back she should be moved back to her room."_

"_I'm heading back to the office…unless you need me to stay Hope?" Bo looked at her to see if she wanted him to stay._

"_I'm fine. Go take care of business. Just hurry back, alright?" She pulled him into a kiss. "Come here." She said grabbing him for another kiss and then tapped his behind as he turned to leave._

"_Take care of my girls." Bo nodded to Kayla and left._

"_He really loves you, Hope."_

"_Yes he does." Hope said grinning._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

"_Hey Roman. Is Higley still down in the holding cell?" Bo had just gotten back to the station. _

"_Last time I checked." Roman replied._

"_Want to bring him up here for me?" Bo asked him. Roman left to get Higley and Bo paced around his office. His anger hadn't abated any since he heard the news about Higley. And seeing his daughter lying in that bed knowing all the years he missed out on with her had only added fuel to the fire. "Come on man. What's taking so long?" He slammed his fist into his other hand. He was looking for a fight. And Higley was going to get the end result of his anger. _

_Roman poked his head into Bo's office. "You sure you want to do this right now? Maybe you should cool down a little before you question him." Roman tried to reason with him._

"_Just get him in here. Now!" Roman and Higley entered his office. "Mr. Dean Higley. What do you have to say for yourself?" Bo asked him._

"_I'd like to call my lawyer." He responded. "I have nothing to say until I talk to my lawyer."_

_Bo was enraged. "What I have to say to you doesn't require a lawyer. You're fired! You sick son of a Bitch. You are nothing but a piece of scum."_

"_Bo. That's enough." Roman grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to calm him down. "You don't want to do this, buddy. Let the IA handle this."_

"_Get off me man!" Bo shoved Romans hand off with a jerk of his shoulder. "You want your lawyer?" He asked Higley. "Call him." Bo picked up the phone and threw it at Higley and then he stormed out of the office. Roman followed him out._

…_**At the hospital…**_

_Hope was sitting beside Alicia's bed. She had finally been moved back to her room. It was getting late and there was still no sign of movement coming from the bed. _

"_Alicia? I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I want you to know that I'm here. I'm not going to leave you again. Sweetie, please wake up. Just open your eyes for me. There's so much I have to say to you…so many questions I want to ask you. But I need you to wake up so we can talk." Hope put her head back against the chair and bit on her lip to keep the tears from falling. She had had another memory of Alicia earlier that left her heart broken. Alicia was just a little girl and she was holding her in her arms telling her a story about her grandparents Doug and Julie. "When I was a teenager," Hope was telling her, "your Grandpa Doug and Grandma Julie gave me a locket from my mother." Hope twirled the heart shaped locket, which hung from her neck, around her fingers. "This is very special to me." She continued. "It belonged to my mother. My Gran gave it to her when she was young. See inside." She opened the locket to show Alicia two small photos. One picture was of Hope's mom and the other was of Hope. "I keep this with me, so I can always have my mom with me in my heart." Alicia raised her hand to touch the locket and look at the pictures. She smiled up at her mother._

"_That's you, Mommy." She said pointing to the picture of Hope._

"_Yes it is, sweetheart." Hope squeezed her daughter tightly in her arms. "I love you so much."_

"_I love you too, Mommy." Alicia turned and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and kissed her cheek. "Don't ever leave me, Mommy."_

_Hope struggled to contain her tears. She didn't know if she would be with her daughter for long. Stefano had been doing things to her that made her forget days and memories of the people she cared about. She would do anything to keep her daughter safe, but she had no idea what Stefano had planned for her, or if she'd be able to stay with Alicia for much longer. He started keeping her from seeing her daughter for more than a few hours a day. The time she spent with her wasn't nearly long enough for Hope. Every second she had she treasured. She needed to make sure Alicia knew she was there and would always be there for her even if she wasn't around. Hope hugged Alicia tighter to her chest. _

"_Alicia, sweetie, do you like Mommy's locket?" She asked her._

"_Yes, Mommy." Alicia uttered in her four-year-old babble._

_Hope reached around the back of her neck and unclasped the necklace. She then placed it around Alicia's neck. "Baby, this is my Mommy here right beside my picture. She's your Grandma Addie. I want you to have this locket so you can have Mommy with you all the time right here in your heart." She said placing her hand above Alicia's heart. Hope choked up. "My Mommy is with the angels right now watching over all of us. Whenever you get scared and Mommy can't be there with you, I want you to look inside the locket and know that I am right here with you. And your Grandma Addie is watching over you with the angels." Hope pulled her back into a hug and kissed her head and cheeks never wanting to let go of her. She could hear Stefano's men coming down the hall to take Alicia form her. She knew her time was almost over. _

"_Hope?" Chelsea had entered the hospital room. "Hope, are you okay?" She asked her looking worriedly at Hope's tear stained cheeks. "Is it Alicia?"_

"_No, sweetie. I was just thinking about a memory I had of Alicia. She's fine. She just hasn't woken up yet." Hope told her. "What are you doing here? Are you doing your internship today?" She questioned her._

"_I thought I'd come by and give you a break." Chelsea told her. "Why don't you go home and get some rest. I know Ciara misses you too. I can stay here with Alicia. She is my sister after all."_

"_I don't know, Chels. I don't want to leave her. I want to be here when she wakes up." Hope was looking down at Alicia willing her to open her eyes. She brushed the top of her head lightly. _

"_Hope. I will call you the minute I see any change. Even if she twitches an eyelid. I promise. I've spent plenty of nights up until the crack of dawn just cramming the books. I can do this. You really need some rest, Hope." Chelsea tried to reason with her step mother._

"_I don't know. I really want to be here when she wakes up."_

"_Hope, I will call you the second I see anything. What good are you going to be for her if you're tired and stressed? Go home and get a good nights sleep and I will stay with Alicia." Chelsea stood her ground not backing down for a second. "I'm not going to change my mind. I'll call Aunt Kayla to give you a sedative if I have to, to get you home."_

"_Alright, alright. I'm going. Promise me you'll call the second there's any change?" Hope told her._

"_I promise. The second I see so much as a twitch coming from her, I'll call." Chelsea hugged Hope and went to sit beside her newfound sister._

…_**Salem Precinct…**_

_Bo paced outside the office waiting for Higley to finish making his call. Roman had gone back in to keep an eye on him. _

"_Commissioner Brady. I have some evidence I think you might be interested in." Detective Monroe handed Bo a file containing evidence from the explosion of Doug's Place. "Reynolds's and I went over some of the evidence we found there the other day and I think you'll like what we found."_

"_What is it?" Bo asked taking file and looking over it. "Is this accurate?" He asked Monroe. "Higley was found on the footage from the security camera? I don't believe this. Where's the tape? I want to see it." Bo and Monroe went over to the computer where Detective Monroe pulled up a file on the case. _

"_Here's the video footage from the security tape we found. If you look right here," he pointed at a figure in the corner of the screen. "You'll see Higley coming out of the back of Doug's Place with a can of gasoline and here he gets into the passenger side of his car which is being driven by Vito."_

"_Got you now. I knew there had to be a connection to Vito. It was just too neat an escape on his part. So Higley is working with Vito. I bet he's also working for Stefano." Bo smirked just thinking about what this new evidence meant to the case. _

_Roman poked his head out of the office. "He's finished with his call. You think you're ready to come back in and handle this the right way?"_

"_Ha-ha funny Roman." He said sarcastically. "I'm ready to handle that scumbag." Bo walked into the office and grabbed Higley by the front of his shirt lifting him up out of his chair. He took him and shoved him up against the wall._

"_Hey! That's police brutality!" Higley yelled._

"_No man, but this is." Bo slammed his fist into Higley's mouth. "You've messed with the wrong guy." He grabbed him again and shoved him against the wall slamming his head against it in the process._

"_Bo? What the hell?" Roman was trying his best to break up the fight. "Bo stop! He isn't worth you losing your job!" He struggled to get Bo off Higley. Bo let go but only long enough for Roman to back off. The second he did, he lunged back at Higley and body slammed him back into the wall._

"_This son of …" he grabbed Higley by the collar of his shirt with one hand and pummeled his face with the other fist. "You almost killed members of my family. Don't even think I'll let you get away with that." Bo was huffing trying to catch his breath._

"_Bo! What are you talking about? Who'd he try to kill?" Roman was back trying to pull Bo off Higley once again, but it was no use. Bo wasn't budging this time. He kept slamming his fist into Higley's jaw. Blood was dribbling out of the corner of his mouth, but it didn't stop Bo from punching the scum some more. He threw Higley down to the ground and started kicking him in the gut repeatedly. "You tried to kill my wife's parents! You're the one behind the explosion! My daughter was in that building!" Bo was infuriated thinking he almost lost his daughter without getting the chance to even know her._

"_Bo? Is this true? He's the one behind the explosion?" The truth dawning on Romans face. "I knew it was his vehicle found leaving the crime scene, but I thought Hope eye deed Vito as the driver?"_

"_He was working with Vito. Monroe pulled some footage off the security cameras that shows this creep running from the scene with a gas can and then jumping into the passenger side of his car which was driven by Vito." Bo had stopped kicking Higley. He coughed and breathed in huge gulps of air. "Were you the one that helped Vito escape? I call that aiding and abetting. Not to mention you attacked a police officer. Reynolds got knocked over the head by you. Didn't he?" Bo pulled Higley to his feet spitting in his bloody bashed in face. "And all this time we've been looking for the homicidal maniac that's been raping innocent young girls and beating them to death and it turns out to be you! You make me sick." Bo threw another punch at Higley's gut causing him to double over. Having caught a second wind, Bo was ready to tear into Higley again. Before he could, however, Abe walked into the office._

"_Bo, Roman. What's going on here?" The Mayor asked them looking from one to the other._

"_I just fired Higley, that's what." Bo answered him._

"_What happened here? It looks like a blood bath." Abe was surveying the scene and Higley's bloodied face. "What happened to him?" He asked pointing at Higley's face._

"_He had a run in with one of the inmates. You know how they are with the crooked cops." Bo lied to him._

"_Roman, is this true? Did Higley get like this as a result of an inmate? Or did Bo have something to do with this?" Roman looked over at Bo and shrugged his shoulders. "Answer me!" Abe yelled. "Who did this?"_

"_I don't know, partner. I didn't see anything. I just got here a few minutes ago and Bo was bringing Higley up from his holding cell. He told me the same thing he told you; one of the inmates attacked Higley." Roman turned his back to Abe and mouthed the words, "You owe me," to Bo._

…_**At Bo and Hope's house…**_

_Hope had just walked in the door when the doorbell rang. "Dad, Julie, hi. Ciara, my sweet baby girl. Come give Mommy a hug." Hope grabbed her little girl in her arms and lifted her up off the ground swinging her around. "Where you a good girl for Grandma and Grandpa?" She asked already knowing the answer._

"_Of course she was." Both Doug and Julie responded in unison._

"_You know we love spending time with her. She was the perfect medicine for this guy over here." Julie said nudging Doug in the side._

"_Daddy, how are you feeling?" Hope asked returning her attention to her parents. "How's your head? Are you taking it easy. I should've called Caroline to pick Ciara up from school and watch her until I could get home."_

"_Nonsense. Princess, I'm fine. Yes I'm taking it easy just like the Dr. ordered." He smirked at her. "And Ciara was just fine. You have one great kid right there."_

"_I know." Hope kissed Ciara's tiny cheeks and hugged her close. "My little girl is the sweetest…" kiss on the cheek, "cutest…" another smooch, "most loveable little girl I could ask for." Hope covered Ciara's face with kisses. All the while Ciara squirmed and giggled loving the attention._

"_Not to change the subject, but how's Alicia doing? I heard she had to have surgery." Julie wondered._

"_She did. There was some swelling on the brain that they drained. She's doing fine now, but she still hasn't woken up." Hope's face changed from happy to gloomy in an instant._

"_Hope, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Julie went over to Hope and hugged her. "I'm sure she'll pull through. She is part Horton after all. From the little I've seen of her, I can tell she has your fight in her. She's exactly how you were at her age. Stubborn and willful. She'll pull through; just you wait and see. Is Bo with her now?" She asked._

"_Umm no. He had to go to the office to tie up some loose ends. Chelsea offered to stay with her so I could get some rest." Hope explained._

"_That girl has come a long way." Julie told her._

"_Bo! What happened to your hand?" Hope watched as Bo came into the house and hung up his jacket. His hand was swollen and red. "Bo?" She arched her eyebrows waiting to be answered._

"_I had an altercation I needed to put an end too." He walked over to Hope and pulled her into a kiss and then he tweaked Ciara's cheek before taking her from Hope's arms. "How's my little sugar bear? Did you miss me?" He asked her pulling her into a bear hug._

"_Yes, Daddy. I missed you bunches and bunches." She wrapped her tiny arms around Bo's neck and hung on to him._

"_Bunches and bunches." He chuckled. _

"_Bo? What happened to your hand? I wan the truth!" Hope stated; her hand on her hips._

"_I gave Higley what was coming to him."_

"_Bo…you..I" Hope was at a loss for words. "You could lose your job. Did anyone see? Why did you let him get to you like that?"_

"_Hope, just calm down for a minute and let me explain." Bo was saying. Julie came over and took Ciara from him._

"_Ciara, honey, why don't we go with Grandpa in the kitchen to get you a glass of milk." Julie and Doug led Ciara out of the living room so Bo and Hope could discuss business. _

"_As I was saying. The guy is a creep. He not only raped and beat those girls to death, but he was also the one behind Vito escaping. He and Vito have been working together and probably for Dimera too. He's the one that set the explosion that nearly killed your pop and our daughter in the process. I couldn't let him get away with that. And you know he'll have an assembly of lawyers looking for loop holes to get him off. Stefano won't let his pretty boy go to jail." Bo was still upset over Higley being their perp. "He shouldn't be allowed to breath the same air that we do. I hope this guy gets the chair. I want to be sitting front row when they fry that scum."_

"_Bo, come here." Hope pulled Bo into a hug and nuzzled her face in his neck. Soon his hands were running up her back massaging her. Hers were doing the same on his back. Bo trailed kisses down Hope's neck and then he pulled her into a passionate kiss sending shivers down her spine. It lasted for a few luxurious moments before he pulled away. "What was that for?" She asked him._

"_Just because I love you." He reached out and traced her jaw line with his finger. Bo leaned into her again and kissed the top of her lip, gently nipping at it. He reeled her in for another long slow kiss. "Hope? What do you say we get rid of your parents, put Ciara to bed and then go up to our room where we can get comfortable?"_

"_Comfortable, huh? That's a new way of putting it, Brady." Hope squeezed herself closer to his body feeling the hard muscles in his chest beneath her._

"_Would you two like to go to your room?" Julie asked as she entered the room. "It was a little quiet, so I thought it was safe to come back. I guess I should've known with the two of you, quiet means keep out." She laughed._

_Hope's face was turning a nice shade of red. "We were just um…hugging." She laughed at the expression on Julie's face._

"_Hugging? That's a new one. I think Doug and I are going to head out now. Will you two be okay getting Ciara to bed, or should we do that before we leave?" Julie teased._

"_Ha ha. Very funny Julie. Go take care of my dad for me. We'll be just fine getting our little girl here to bed." She reached down to Ciara. "Goodnight Daddy." Hope kissed her parents and saw them to the door. "Well Ciara Alice, what do you say we go give you a bath and get you all warm and snuggly in your pajamas and then Daddy can read you a bedtime story?"_

"_Yeah!" Ciara jumped up and down with delight._

……

_Ciara lay snuggled in her bed between her parents. She was freshly bathed and lying comfortably in her pink polka dotted pajamas. Bo was reading The Wizard of Oz to her and she was just drifting off to sleep. "Just click your heels together three times…" Bo was reading as he looked over to see his child sleeping . She was laying curled up in Hope's arms. They both looked so content. Hope had her head resting against Ciara's. Her eyes were partially closed. He closed the book and leaned over to kiss the top of Ciara's head. "Goodnight my little sugar bear. I love you." He whispered softly in her ear. "Hope? She's asleep. You coming to bed?" He asked her. Hope stretched out her arm and yawned._

"_I feel so comfortable right here. I don't feel like moving." She smiled up at Bo and pulled Ciara closer to her gently kissing her cheek so as not to wake her._

"_Don't get too comfortable here. I want to snuggle with you when I get back."_

"_Get back?" Hope raised herself off the bed fully awake now. "Bo, where are you going?" She asked him in a loud whisper._

"_I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to get some ice for my hand. It's throbbing. I'll be right back, and then I want you in my bed lying right next to me. Preferably naked." He grinned at her and raised both eyebrows. Bo leaned over and kissed Hope full on the lips and trailed kisses along her neck. He nibbled on her neck before pulling away. "I'll have a little more of that when I get back up here. And you better be in my bed." Hope tapped his behind as he turned to leave. "Now you're getting the idea." He laughed as he walked out of the room._

"_Mommy?" Ciara moaned in her sleep._

"_Shh shh. I'm right here, baby. Go back to sleep." Hope wrapped her arms around Ciara and snuggled closely to her. She felt a little guilty that she was able to share this togetherness with one daughter while she had been kept from sharing the same tender moments with Alicia. And she would never again be able to have her little angle baby, Zach, in her arms. A small tear trickled out of the corner of Hope's eye. She would never get over losing Zach, nor would she ever get the time lost with Alicia back. Hope kissed Ciara's head one more time and rose to go to her own bed._

……

_Hope Peeled off her clothes and stepped into the shower. She felt the tension of the day slowly ease out of her body as she stood under the warm water raining down on her. She heard a click and turned to see Bo stepping into the shower behind her. She smiled at him. Bo pulled her close to his body and nibbled along the back of her neck. He picked up a bar soap and began washing Hope's back. _

"_I thought you'd be waiting for me under the covers, but I like this idea a lot more." Bo ran his hands across her shoulder rubbing the soap in and then down her back before moving around to the front of her body. Hope turned to face him tipping her head up to his so he could kiss her._

"_Mmm that feels good." Bo was slowly moving his hands up the sides of her arms to the top of her shoulder. Hope reached her hand up to her hair to get it under the stream of water causing her body to arch into Bo's. Bo leaned in closer and began kissing her; first on the lips and then to her neck, slowly making his way down to her navel. He lingered there for a moment before running his tongue back up her front to her chin and finally stopping at her lips. Her mouth tasted so sweet beneath his tongue. He wanted her badly. His kisses became more passionate. A moan escaped from Hope's lips. "Oh Bo."_

"_I think we should take this back to the bed." Bo suggested. Bo turned off the water and draped a towel around his waist. He turned to see Hope had wrapped one around her body as well. He went over to her, bent down and lifted her cradling her in his arms like a baby as he carried her back to their bed._

_Bo lay Hope back against the bed. He brought his lips to her leg and kissed her. He traced her leg with his tongue stopping where the towel clung to her wet body. Bo reached up and peeled back the towel from Hope. Her body glistened in the moonlight. _

"_Come here Brady." Hope motioned to him and grabbed his hand. Bo winced in pain. "Oh Bo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Hope gently took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips slowly kissing each bruised knuckle. _

"_That's okay Hope. I don't feel pain anymore, but I definitely feel something." Hope laughed as he fell on top of her. His mouth found hers and they kissed long and slow until the passion from it became too much. Bo guided himself into Hope and they moved in unison, their bodies becoming one. Hope gripped his back her nails digging into him. She could feel the hard muscles of his chest against her body. Bo ran his hands up along the side of her legs grabbing her thigh when he reached the top. "Fancy Face." Bo cried out as Hope moaned his name her hands entangled in the sheets gripping at them with the overpowering passion that filled her body. _

_After awhile, they lay spent in each others embrace . Bo kissed the back of Hope's neck as he held her in his arms. "Each time with you just gets more incredible. I love you, Fancy face." They fell asleep in each others arms and slept more peacefully than they had in weeks._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_Hope stirred in the still night air. Something had awakened her, but she wasn't sure what it was. A buzzing sound. Where was it coming from. She looked over at the clock. 2:31 A.M. Again the buzzing. Hope twisted around in Bo's arms to face him and wrapped her arms across him laying her head on his bare chest. "Buzz, buzz." Hope lifted her head off Bo's chest. Just where was that sound coming from. And then it hit her. Her cell phone was on vibrate. It had to be about Alicia. Hope jumped up from the bed waking Bo in the process._

"_Hope?" He was still groggy. "What's wrong? Is it Ciara?" Bo asked._

"_No. Where's my phone? I hear it going off. Where is it?" Hope searched desperately for her phone. Bo was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, but he got up and searched with his wife._

"_I think it's coming from over here. Maybe if we turn on the light I can see where it is.' Bo reached over to the side table for the light switch, but sent the lamp crashing to the floor instead. "Buzz. Buzzzzz." And then the phone stopped._

"_No!" Hope was panicking. "What if that was the hospital or Chelsea? What if something is wrong with Alicia? What…" The house phone ringing cut Hope off from saying more._

"_Hello?" Bo had managed to get to the phone without stepping on any of the broken glass from the lamp. Hope found the wall switch and a flood of light illuminated the room._

"_Dad, is that you?" Chelsea's voice came across the line. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I tried calling Hope on her cell, but there was no answer."_

"_Chels, what's wrong? Is Alicia okay?" He practically yelled into the phone. He was just as anxious as Hope to see his daughter wake up from the coma._

"_She's fine, but I think you might want to get down here." Chelsea sounded happy._

"_Is she waking up?" Bo looked over to see Hope's face looking back at him anxiously awaiting the answer to his question._

"_I think she might be. There was some movement, but the doctors said it was to be expected. I don't know, Dad, but I think it might be more than just involuntary movement. Just come down here and see for yourself." Chelsea was practically singing on the phone. She was so excited to have a sister close to her age. She loved Ciara with all her heart, but Alicia would be someone she could relate to._

"_Thanks for letting us know, kid. Hope and I will be there as soon as we can get someone to come stay with Ciara." Bo hung up the phone and was going to tell Hope the news, but she had already raced out of the room to get dressed. He grabbed the phone again and called his mother to come stay with Ciara. "Hey Ma, sorry to be calling so late. Do you think you can come stay with Ciara while Hope and I go to the hospital. Chelsea is there now and she seems to think that Alicia might be waking up." Bo was hanging up with his mother when Hope emerged from the master bath._

"_Bo? What are you doing? Get dressed already. I want to get to the hospital. I wonder if Julie can come sit with Ciara." She was saying._

"_I just called Ma. She's on her way as we speak." Bo walked past Hope kissing her on his way by to get dressed. "Why don't you go turn on the lights for Ma so she can see her way to the front door. I'm going to clean up this mess once I get dressed." He was hollering to Hope from the bathroom._

_Hope left to check on Ciara. She eased the door quietly open and peeked in on her baby girl lying sweetly in her bed. Hope lifted the covers around her shoulders and tucked her back in under them. She bent down to kiss her on her head, brushed some straggling strands of hair from Ciara's face, and went to go turn on the outside lights for Caroline._

_Bo was just coming down the stairs when the doorbell rang._

"_Hey Ma. Glad you could get here so quickly and on such short notice." He told her as he hugged her._

"_Thank you so much Caroline." Hope said pulling on Bo's arm to get him moving out the door. "Ciara is sleeping upstairs. I just checked in on her. If you need anything I'll have my cell on me." Hope pushed Bo to the door._

"_Don't you worry about a thing, Hope. Just go to your other daughter. I'll be fine here with Ciara." Bo and Hope quickly left the house and jumped into the car. _

"_Bo can you hurry up?" Hope asked him for the second time._

"_I'm already going over the sped limit as it is, Hope. We don't want to get into an accident on our way to the hospital." Bo reached over to take Hope's hand is his. He gave her a tight squeeze. "It's going to be okay. This is good news. You should be celebrating."_

"_Bo, we don't know anything for sure. It could just be an involuntary movement like the doctors told Chelsea. Why didn't the hospital call us?" Everything was running through Hope's mind all at once. She was afraid to be hopeful that Alicia might be waking up. She was afraid she would wake up and look at her with anger and resentment. She wasn't sure Alicia would accept them as her parents; allow them to care for her. Hope looked over at the speedometer. "Bo, you're barely doing 55. You can go faster than that."_

……

_Bo and Hope raced into the Alicia's room. "Chelsea, how is she?" Hope asked. "Has there been anymore movement?" She shot off question after question. "Has the doctor been in to see her? What did he say about the movement exactly? Are you sure you saw her move? What exactly did she move? Her hand? A finger? Her eye?" Hope wouldn't let up with the questions._

"_Hope would you let me get a word in?" Chelsea screamed at her. "She moved her hand. Yes the doctor checked her and told me some bull line about how it's an involuntary movement, that they come and go with coma patients. But Hope, she moved her hand. It wasn't just a twitch, she moved her hand up from the bed to her stomach. That's not involuntary if you ask me."_

_Hope went to Alicia's side. "Has she moved her hand since you saw her do it? Or anything else for that matter?"_

"_No. But Hope, I know what I saw and it wasn't involuntary. You have to believe me." Chelsea pleaded with her._

"_Hope, Bo…what are you two doing here so late?" Kayla walked in the room to check Alicia's vitals. "I thought you went home for the night."_

"_We did. Chelsea called to let us know that Alicia had moved her hand. What are you still doing here?" Hope asked._

"_I had to pull a double shift. Too many doctors out sick with the flu. You know you really didn't have to call them to come down here." Kayla told Chelsea. "Hope, I'm sorry you rushed down here. There really is no change. And I'm sure Dr. Monroe told Chelsea that the movement was involuntary. It happens with most coma patients."_

"_I told Chelsea to call me no matter what. Thank you sweetie." She gave her a small _

_smile. "Kay, Chelsea seems to think it might have been more than just a spontaneous movement. How can you be sure it wasn't?" She asked Kayla. She hoped Chelsea was right. She was worried about Alicia being unconscious for too much longer._

"_If she were waking up, we would know. We have her hooked up to all these machines to monitor her. There's no change Hope. I'm sorry." Kayla wished there was more she could do for her niece. Waiting for someone to wake up from a coma was the hardest part for the family._

"_Mm." Hope heard Alicia moan first and ran to her side. _

"_Alicia." She grabbed Alicia's hand and held it in her own. "Sweetie. It's okay. Mommy's here. Alicia?"_

_Kayla went to check the monitors. "I think she's coming to. There's a marked increase in brain activity."_

"_Alicia?" Hope called to her again. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up. Come on. Open your eyes for me. Alicia." Hope lovingly stroked her hair. She stopped when she saw Alicia's eyes moving beneath the lids. "Baby, open your eyes for me."_

_Alicia struggled to open her eyes. "Mom?" She said barely above a whisper._

"_I'm right here." Hope cried out. "I'm right here, sweetie. I'm not going to leave you."_

_Alicia turned her head to the sound of her mother's voice. "Mom? You remember me?" She asked her._

_Hope stroked the side of Alicia's face. "I remember that you're my daughter. That's all that matters right now. That and getting you better."_

"_Hope. I need to check Alicia. And then she needs some rest. I know what you're going to say." She held up her hand to stop Hope from saying anything. "She just came out of the coma, but she needs plenty of rest if she's ever going to get out of here." Kayla ushered her brother and his family out so she could examine Alicia._

……

_Hope lay sleeping in a chair beside Alicia's bed. Bo was slumped over in a chair beside his wife. They had spent the night waiting for Alicia to reopen her eyes and talk to them again. She had barely said a few words to Hope before Kayla sent them out of the room so she could examine Alicia. _

"_Mommy." Alicia was crying in her sleep._

_Hope jumped up at the sound of her voice. "Alicia, sh, it's okay. I'm right here." She held on to Alicia's hand lightly rubbing the back of it. "Sweetie, can you hear me?" Hope asked her._

_Alicia was sobbing harder now. She continued to dream writhing in her sleep and calling out for Hope._

"_Sweetie, it's okay. I'm right here." Hope brushed her hand across Alicia's forehead. She was burning up._

"_Mommy." Alicia kept moaning._

"_Bo? Wake up! Go get the nurse." Hope slapped at Bo's leg; trying to wake him._

"_What? Hope? Is Alicia okay?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked over at Hope. He saw the worried look on her face. "Hope? What's wrong?"_

"_Brady, she's burning up. Go get someone." Hope held on to Alicia's hand. "Alicia, sweetie. It's okay. I'm right here." She said trying to soothe her._

"_I need the two of you to leave now." Dr. Monroe had come into the room with Bo and went over to examine Alicia. "Now please." Bo half dragged a reluctant Hope out of the room. _

_Hope paced outside the room wondering what could be wrong now. What was taking the doctor so long. Bo tried holding on to her to comfort her, but Hope kept pulling away going back to the door and pacing back up the hall._

"_Hope. The doctor's going to do everything he can for her. This is the best place for her to be right now. Come here." He pulled her into his embrace again and kissed the top of her head. Dr. Monroe opened the door and motioned for them to join him inside._

"_Your daughter has a fever which usually points to an infection. I've started her on some antibiotics. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best." Dr. Monroe left them then._

"_Wait and hope for the best. I'm sick of waiting, Brady." Hope put her arms around Bo's waist. "I just wish she was home safe and sound with us."_

"_Soon. We just have to let the antibiotics do their job and then Alicia will be fine and we can take her home." Bo tried reassuring her._

"_From your lips to God's ears." Hope walked over to Alicia's bed and reached out to take her hand. "I just want to take her in my arms and tell her that I love her."_

"_Hope. You'll have plenty of chances to do just that. We just need to wait a little while longer." Bo massaged the back of Hope's neck. He could feel how tense she was. "Hope, why don't you go home and get some rest. I'll stay here with Alicia."_

"_No. I told her I wasn't going to leave. I want to be here in case she wakes up looking for me. I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."_

"_I know how tough you are." He wrapped his arms around Hope. "I just want you to take care of yourself. Those chairs aren't that comfortable to sleep in. You've spent a couple nights here now."_

"_I'm fine, Bo. I just want to be here with Alicia." Hope stroked Alicia's hair lightly running her fingers through the strands. She felt a little cooler to the touch. Maybe it was a good sign. The antibiotics were helping._

…_**Salem Precinct…**_

_Bo sat at his desk going through paperwork. He couldn't concentrate on the job. What he wanted was to be with his wife and child. But he was the commissioner and he had a job to do. Higley had been taken to maximum security after the fight they had the day before. Abe didn't want anymore inmates to be given the chance to attack an officer of the law. Bo chuckled remembering how he was the one who left Higley in such bad shape. 'What Abe doesn't know won't hurt him.' He thought to himself. It was up to IA and the courts to decide Higley's fate now._

"_Hey Buddy. Any news on Alicia?" Roman poked his head in. _

"_Hey Roman. I just talked to Hope a few minutes ago. Alicia is resting and her fever has dropped. Looks like she'll make a full recovery."_

"_So what are you doing here?" Roman asked him._

"_I got to finish this paperwork. I would give anything not to have to push papers and attend all those crazy meetings. Why did I agree to this job anyway? Oh right; to try and put Dimera behind bars. Look how that turned out." Bo never hated anyone as much as he did Dimera. He doubted he'd ever get the pleasure of seeing him hung for all his crimes._

"_We'll get him one of these days. Besides, isn't Shane and the ISA still working on cracking the codes on that disc? With any luck we might get something we can use to bring the old man down." Roman looked a little too confident._

"_I haven't heard from Shane in a few days. I should give him a call and find out what's going on." Bo was reaching for the phone when it rang. "Hello?"_

"_Bo, it's Shane. I have some news for you. When can we meet?" He asked._

"_Are you psychic man? I was just calling you to find out if there was anything new." Bo was laughing. "How about we meet at the pub? In say half an hour?"_

"_I'll see you then." Bo hung up the phone. "Looks like we might have a break after all." Bo said smiling._

…_**Alicia's hospital room…**_

_Alicia's head was pounding. She could barely keep her eyes open. She looked to her right and saw her mother sleeping in the chair. Where was she? This room didn't look familiar to her. She glanced around surveying the room and realized she was in the hospital. What was she doing here? How did she get here? "Ouch!" Her head hurt just thinking about it._

_Hope stirred from her nap. She glanced over at Alicia and saw her looking back. "Hi sweetie. Did you just wake up?" Hope asked. "I must have dozed off. How are you feeling?"_

"_My head hurts." Alicia wondered why she was being so nice to her. How many times had she run out on her mother? How many times had she yelled at her mother saying she couldn't help her and yet here she was sitting by her bed watching over her. "What happened?" Alicia wondered._

"_There was an explosion. You were hurt when the ceiling caved in on you. Do you remember any of it?" Hope asked._

"_I…um…I think so. I remember going with Gran…"Alicia stopped. She looked at Hope to see if she had caught her slip._

"_It's okay Alicia. I remember you. I know that you're my daughter." Hope pulled Alicia into a hug. Alicia was tearing up. "You went to Doug's place with your grandparents. There was an explosion. Do you remember?"_

"_Yes. Wait." She pulled away from Hope so she could face her. "Is Grandpa alright? He got hurt…before the second explosion. Is he okay?" Alicia asked worriedly._

"_He's fine. He had a slight concussion, but he's okay now." Hope wiped away the tears that had fallen from Alicia's eyes. "Alicia…I…I'm sorry." There was so much Hope wanted to tell her, but she didn't know where to start._

"_Sorry about what? Is there something wrong with me that you're not telling me?" Alicia was agitated. _

"_No. I didn't mean to upset you. There's nothing wrong now." Hope tried to soothe her._

"_Now? But there was? Ouch! My head." Alicia grabbed her held and rocked herself. The pain was excruciating. "Mommy." She cried. "It hurts. It really hurts." Alicia was rocking back and forth. "Make it stop." She cried. _

"_I'll go get a doctor." Hope left to find some help. She saw Kayla walking in the hall and stopped her. "Kayla, it's Alicia. She's in pain."_

_Kayla and Hope went back to Alicia's room. Alicia was crying more loudly now. The pain was becoming unbearable. Kayla gave her a shot of morphine. "This should help. I need you to relax. Try lying back and close your eyes. Just relax and let the medicine do the rest." Alicia lay whimpering in pain. After a few minutes, she slipped back to sleep._

"_I gave her a high dose. She should be asleep for awhile. You might want to go grab something to eat." Kayla was worried about Hope. She looked too pale. _

"_I can't leave her Kay. She needs me." Hope wouldn't leave her side._

"_Okay. I can see I'm not going to win here. How about a compromise? I'll go down to the cafeteria and get you something to eat. That way there you can stay with Alicia and still take care of yourself." Kayla told her. "I know you're worried Hope, but you need to take care of yourself."_

…_**Brady Pub…**_

"_Shane. I have a table for us back here. Hope you brought an appetite. Ma's fixing us some chowder." Bo led Shane to a table in the back corner. "So what do you have for me?"_

"_We pulled some more video footage from the disc. There's some more of Hope and Alicia. I'm sure you'll both want to see that. How is Alicia by the way?" Shane asked._

"_She's out of the coma, but she's been sleeping a lot. Haven't been able to talk with her yet." Bo was heading back to the hospital after his meeting with Shane._

"_Sorry Bo. Is there anything I can do to help?" Shane asked._

"_You are. Getting some answers helps keep my mind off going after Stefano and ripping his heart out. Not that he has one." Bo looked over at the file Shane had brought with him. "What do you have there?"_

"_This is a summary of everything we found on the disc. I don't know how to break this to you, but it looks like Stefano was training Alicia to be an assassin.""What?" Bo was stunned. "Are you sure? We are talking about Alicia? My daughter! You're telling me that my daughter is a trained assassin?" Bo lowered his voice to avoid anyone overhearing their conversation._

"_Bo. We don't know exactly what he had planned for her. But the training he put her through is exactly the training of an assassin. You said yourself you couldn't completely trust her." Shane was whispering loudly._

"_She hasn't exactly been to forthcoming with Hope and I. But an assassin?" Bo couldn't wrap his mind around the thought of it. This was a child made out of their love. She was a part of Hope who was the kindest most loving person he had ever known. This couldn't be true. Could it? "It can't be.. I won't believe that a child of mine could be a trained assassin. There's no way."_

"_Bo, I don't know for sure if she's actually killed anyone. But the training she was put through is that of an assassin. Remember, she was under Stefano's control the same way Hope was. We know what he had her doing all those years. Not to mention what John did for him." _

"_Man. I can't deal with this right now. I've got my daughter lying in a hospital bed that may or may not be an assassin. What am I supposed to tell Hope? How can I bring her into my home knowing that she could possibly be a killer. How…I." Bo was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to think. Alicia was running from Stefano's men. She was afraid of Stefano. How could she be an assassin? He got up from his seat. "I got to take off man. I need to find Hope." Bo left in a hurry._

"_So much for the chowder." Shane packed up his briefcase and left._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Mom." Alicia whispered. Her throat was dry and her head still hurt. She was groggy from the morphine and had trouble opening her eyes.

"What is it Alicia? I'm right here." Hope called out to her.

Alicia jumped when she felt Hope's cool hand on her forehead. She hadn't seen her mother come over to the bed. The lights were dimmed down and it was close to night fall. Alicia reached out to take her mother's hand. "Mom? Can you get me some water?" She asked in a weak voice.

"Here you go." Hope held the cup of water to Alicia's mouth so she could have a sip. "Are you feeling better?" She asked her.

"A little. My head doesn't hurt as much." She took another sip from the cup before handing it back to Hope.

Bo walked in and noticed Alicia was awake and sitting up in bed. "Hey Alicia. How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I'm a little groggy and my head hurts a little. It's not as bad as when I first woke up earlier." She said eyeing her father. She wondered if he knew he was her dad. He was looking at her differently; like she was a suspect. It made her feel uneasy.

"Hope, can I talk to you for a minute?" Bo motioned for Hope to leave the room with him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him.

"I just need to talk to you about something." Bo told her.

"Is it about me?" Alicia asked. "You think I did something, don't you?"

Bo shifted his gaze to the floor.

"Well, is it about me?" Alicia asked him. She knew by the tone of his voice that what he had to say to Hope was about her. "Well?" She arched her eyebrow the same way Hope did when she wanted answers.

Bo was conflicted. He couldn't picture her shooting anyone. She was his daughter. There had to be another reason for what Shane found on the disc. "I have some questions for you, but I want you to be well enough to answer them."

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked him.

"No. You didn't do anything." Not that he knew of anyway. "I just want you to be well enough before we get into why you've been lying to us about who you really are." Bo told her.

"You know I'm your daughter, huh? How did you find out?" She asked biting at her lip.

"I had my sister run some DNA tests on you. And your mom had some memories of you." Bo answered.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think you'd believe me if I had." Alicia looked down at her hands, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"You're right. I probably wouldn't have believed you without any proof." Bo told her. He saw her lip quivering and decided to go easy on her. "I'm sorry kid. You didn't make it easy for us to trust you. But we know now who you are and that's all that matters now." Bo walked over to her and gently placed a finger under her chin to lift her face up to see him. "I want you to know that I'm happy you're my kid and not a Dimera. I just need time to get to know you before I can give you my trust." He hesitated before pulling her into a hug.

Alicia started crying when he did. It was the first time she ever got to hug her dad. She always wanted a dad and now here he was holding her. She felt safe in his embrace. His strong arms held her tightly making her feel as though nothing in the world could touch her as long as he was there. "I'm sorry." She bawled. Her tears were falling in torrents as she clung to her daddy.

Bo gently stroked the back of her head trying to calm her down. He could feel Alicia tightening her grip on him as though she were holding on for her life. Her sobs were beginning to ease up. Bo pulled her away from him so he could see her face. "Hey, it's okay. We'll sort through everything once you're feeling better and home with us. Right now I want you to get some rest. Why don't you lie back and get some sleep." Bo propped up her pillows and lay her back on them.

"You want me to go home with you? To live?" Alicia was afraid to believe it was true.

"Of course we do." Hope answered for him. "You are our daughter. Why wouldn't we want you home with us?" Hope asked.

"I …I don't know." Alicia hesitated. "I guess I thought you'd be mad at me for lying to you."

"Get some rest sweetie." Hope leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You look a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel drained. I guess I'm still not strong enough to stay up for too long." She yawned. Her eyes struggled to stay open. "Will you be here when I wake up?" She asked Hope.

"I'll be right here." Hope squeezed her hand. She looked over at Bo and wondered what he had to tell her. She wondered if he'd heard from Shane and had more information from the disc. He seemed distant with Alicia when he first arrived. There was something definitely wrong, but she wasn't sure what it could be. It wasn't long before Alicia drifted off to sleep. Hope went over to Bo wanting to know what was wrong.

"I got some disturbing information today on Alicia. I need to know more before I can even think about what it could mean. It's so frustrating not knowing who she is and hearing things about her and then seeing her here so vulnerable. I don't know what to believe." Bo tried to explain how he was feeling to Hope. He didn't know if he should tell her what Shane told him about Alicia being an assassin. It was hard enough for him to try to believe it. Hope would never believe a child of hers could be anything but good at heart. He knew he couldn't keep the information from her. He just didn't know how to tell her.

"What exactly did you hear?" Hope pressed for him to tell her. "How bad is it?" She looked over at Alicia wondering what could be so bad that Bo was reluctant to tell her about it.

"It has to do with what Stefano was training her for. Shane seems to think he was training her to be an assassin." Bo bit at his lip knowing what was coming next.

"What? Are you serious? Bo? There's no way!" Hope nodded her head no repeatedly in disbelief. "I can't believe you would even agree with him. She's our daughter, Bo. She was made from our love." Hope was furious with him.

"Hope. I don't agree with him. I don't know what to think. We need to get some answers from Alicia, but obviously we can't do that right now. When I came in here tonight, I was thinking about all the times she's run out on us; how evasive she's been. And then she broke down and I couldn't believe she could be a killer. I'm confused, Hope. I don't know why there's this information on her or what it could mean. What if she was brain washed the same way you and John were? I'm afraid she'll go into a trance and attack someone we care about. We don't know what Stefano did to her. He's had her locked away her whole life." Bo was pacing now. He wanted to believe that his daughter was filled with love; that she didn't have an evil bone in her body. He knew where Stefano was concerned, anything was possible. His daughter could be a trained killer. How would he be able to keep his family whole?

……

Alicia tossed and turned in her bed. She could feel the eyes of someone watching her. She rolled on her side to see who was there. She opened her eyes in the darkened room expecting to see her mother smiling back at her, but she came face to face with Vito instead. Vito was leering at her seductively. "Help!!!!!! Help!!!!" She screamed at the sight of him. He grabbed her mouth with his hand. Alicia struggled with him. She bit down hard on his hand and screamed out again. Vito grabbed her arms and pinned them by her sides. She cried from the pain of his grip. He brought his face down to her until his lips met hers and he forced a kiss on her. He held on to her as he shuffled his body onto the bed and on top of her all the while shoving his tongue down her throat. Alicia struggled to be free of him. She fought to free her arms and kicked at his legs. She was whimpering from the pain his grip was causing her. Finally he released her and jumped off the bed. Alicia screamed out again in piercing shrieks. The door to her hospital room was flung open and a guard came in flipping on the light switch as he did. The light flooded the room making Alicia squint her eyes. She glanced around the room looking for Vito, but he was gone. She and the guard were the only two people in the room. 'Where did Vito go? Did I imagine him here?' she wondered.

"Miss? Are you alright?" The guard asked her. He could she the girl was visibly shaken. "Can I get the doctor for you?"

"No. I'm fine. I must have been having a nightmare." She answered in between gasps. Alicia's heartbeat returned to normal and she wiped the tears off her face. "Where are my parents? My mom said she would be here when I woke up." Alicia looked beyond the guards shoulder trying to see if her parents were standing in the hall. 'Where had they gone? She promised she'd be there when I woke up.' Alicia panicked.

"Your parents went to the cafeteria to get some coffee. Would you like me to have them paged?" The guard asked her.

"No. It's okay. I'm sure they won't be gone long." Alicia lay back on the bed and watched the guard walk out of her room. She wasn't sure if what had just happened was real or not. Was Vito in her room? Why did it take so long for the guard to come in? Was she dreaming and crying out in her sleep? It seemed so real. She shivered from the thought of Vito attacking her and hugged herself. The moment she did, she winced in pain. Alicia looked down at her arms to find the bruised finger prints glaring back at her. She nervously looked about the room wondering if Vito was still there hiding.

Vito peeked out from the closet door. "All in good time little girl. I'll have my way with you." Vito ran his tongue over his lips enjoying the taste of Alicia that still lingered on them.

Alicia shivered. She could sense someone still watching her, but she couldn't see anyone there. She noticed her clothes slung over a chair and went to the bathroom to put them on. Alicia glanced around the side of the door looking to see if anyone was there. She dressed quickly and made her way out. Alicia noticed the guard was at the nurses station with his back to her. She quietly eased herself through the doorway and quickly made her way down the hall.

Vito followed her at a safe distance. "This is going to be much easier than I thought." He grinned knowing he would finally have her.

……

Bo and Hope returned to Alicia's room to find her bed empty. Hope ran out to the hall to speak to the officer assigned to guard her daughter. "Dallas? Was my daughter taken for more tests?" Hope asked him. "She's not in her bed. Where is she?"

"She's not in her bed? I've been right here and no one has been in or out of the room. She had a nightmare about twenty minutes ago and was asking for you. I haven't left my post all night. Are you sure she isn't in the bathroom?"

Hope ran back into the room frantic. She checked in the bathroom and closet for any sign of Alicia. "Bo, she's missing! Officer Dallas claims no one has been in or out of her room and he hasn't left his post." She glanced around the room for clues. "Her clothes are missing. Bo, where could she be?"

"I'm going to put out an APB on her. Don't worry Hope she can't have gotten far. We'll find her." He hugged his wife before going to tear into Dallas for not doing his job.

"Dallas? Where were you when you were supposed to be protecting my daughter?" Bo chewed Dallas out. "What happened? How could you not see my daughter leaving her room if you were standing right here like you told my wife you were?"

"Look. I heard you're daughter screaming. I went into her room. There was no one in the room with her. I asked her if she was okay. She said she had a bad dream. She wanted to know where you and your wife were. I asked her if she wanted me to page you. She didn't. I came out here and…"

"And?" Bo was anxious to know where his daughter was; if she was in any danger?"

"I got a call from the station. I went to the nurses station right here to take it." Dallas explained. "I was away from the door for no more than three minutes. But, I was right here. No one went in or came out."

"Did you have your back to the door at anytime. Obviously she somehow got out of her room. Why the hell would the station be calling you on the hospital line? Who called you? I want names!" Bo was furious.

"I had my back turned for a second, I swear. I don't know who called me."

"You don't know who called you?" Bo felt like knocking some sense into Dallas. "Did you ask who was calling? Did you recognize the voice on the other end?"

"There was no one on the line." He answered.

"This must have been a set up to lure you away so whoever was on the phone could get to my daughter. What the hell were you thinking man, leaving your post?" Bo walked off leaving Dallas dumbstruck.

……

Chelsea was cleaning off the kitchen table when she heard the front door open and close. 'I wonder if that's Dad. I thought he was spending the night at the hospital with Hope.' Chelsea went to see who it was and saw Alicia walking up the stairs.

"Alicia?" She called out to her. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital? Are Dad and Hope with you? Do they know you're here?" She fired off the questions.

"Who are you?" Alicia eyed Chelsea. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm your half sister Chelsea. You didn't answer my question. Do Dad and Hope know that you're here? You're supposed to be in the hospital."

"I left." Alicia made to walk upstairs to her room again.

"Where are you going? You can't just leave it like that. Where are my parents?" Chelsea was getting irritated.

"I'm tired. I'm going to lie down. I don't know where MY parents are. They weren't at the hospital when I woke up." Alicia left Chelsea staring after her with her mouth hanging open. She didn't know or trust Chelsea so she wasn't about to answer any of her questions. She couldn't stay at the hospital knowing that Vito was able to get to her. She didn't know that he had followed her home and stood lurking outside the house waiting for his chance to corner her.

Chelsea was mortified that Alicia had snuck out of the hospital without telling her parents. They must be worried sick looking for her. She quickly grabbed her cell and dialed her dad's cell.

"Hey kid, everything alright? I don't really have time to talk. I'm trying to locate…"

"Alicia?" Chelsea asked cutting him off. "She's here. That's why I'm calling. She said she woke up and you and Hope weren't there, so she left the hospital and came here."

"Thank you for calling. We were worried something had happened to her. I'm on my way home. Can you do me a favor and make sure she stays put?" Bo asked her.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Chelsea hung up the phone. "I can handle her."

……

"Where is she?" Bo and Hope asked in unison. They were barely in the door when they spotted Chelsea.

"She's upstairs sleeping?" Chelsea told them.

"Are you sure?" Bo asked her.

"Yeah, I just checked on her a few minutes ago." Bo and Hope ran up the stairs.

Hope opened the door and walked over to a sleeping Alicia. She lightly jostled her awake. "Alicia?"

Alicia looked up at Hope dazed wondering where she was for the moment. As the last moments of sleep left her head, she raised herself off the bed and wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Alicia? Why did you leave the hospital? You had your dad and me really worried." Hope asked her.

Alicia stayed silent wondering where to start. She looked from her mother's face to her father's. He looked upset with her. She lowered her glance and told them what happened to her. Alicia twisted the blankets around in her hands as she relayed the attack on her. "I don't know where he went. At first I thought it might have been a dream, but I have bruises on my arms where he grabbed me."

"Why did you tell Officer Dallas that you had a nightmare? Why didn't you tell him what happened or ask him to get us. We would've come right away?" Bo stared at her face trying to believe her.

"I was screaming for help and no one came. He was supposed to be protecting me, but Vito was able to get into my room on his watch. I couldn't trust him. You weren't there like you promised." She turned her gaze on Hope. I struggled with him for more than just a few minutes. I was scared and there was no one to help me. Why didn't the guard hear me crying for help? How could Vito get into my room if he was supposedly outside my door protecting me?" Alicia was crying. "I couldn't stay there. I was afraid he'd come back."

"Why didn't you have us paged. We were down in the cafeteria. You didn't have to leave the hospital. You're not well enough to. In fact, I think we should bring you back there now." Hope said.

"No! I can't go back there. I don't feel safe there. Can't I just stay here with you. I'll stay in bed until I'm better. I promise." She pleaded with Hope. "Please don't make me go back there."

"I don't know. I'm not a doctor. I'll call Kayla and see if it's alright." She compromise with Alicia seeing the worried look in her eyes. Hope left to call her sister-in-law.

Bo stayed with his arms crossed watching Alicia nervously dart her eyes away like she was hiding something from him. Was he reading too much into it because of the information Shane had found on the disc. Maybe she was just a scared little girl who wanted to be safe with her family. If only she had been forthcoming from the beginning, he could've trusted her more.

Hope returned to the room. "Kayla said she'll be by later to check on you. You have to promise me that you will not leave this bed under any circumstances."

"I promise." Alicia looked up at her father holding his gaze to show him she meant it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Bo lay in bed lightly running his fingers through Hope's hair as she lay sleeping peacefully in his arms. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the information Shane had pulled off the disc. He couldn't wait for Alicia to be well enough to answer some questions. She certainly had been through a lot these past few weeks. He wanted to protect her from Vito. That's twice that bastard had attacked his daughter. He was going to make sure there wouldn't be a third time. Bo's mind continued to wander to the night before. Dallas said he heard Alicia screaming and said she had had a nightmare. Alicia claimed that she had screamed several times and no one came to her rescue. Had Dallas left his post more than once? Or maybe he had another Dimera contact on his hands.

Hope moaned softly in her sleep and stirred in Bo's arms. She was up most of the night checking on Alicia. Kayla was reluctant to let Alicia remain at home with them after coming out of the coma and surgery so soon. She only gave in because she thought Alicia would recuperate a lot faster if she were home with Bo and Hope where she could feel safe and protected. Hope had to promise her she'd make sure Alicia got plenty of rest.

Bo looked up to see his bedroom door ease open. A pink pajama clad little girl peeked in from the hallway. "Hey sugar bear. Did you just wake up?" Bo asked Ciara.

Ciara trotted over to her daddy's side of the bed and scrambled up onto the bed to snuggle next to him. "I had a bad dream." She said burying her face in his neck as she wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"Hey, sweetheart." Hope woke when she heard her baby girls cries. She reached over to wrap her arm around Ciara. "You had a bad dream?" Hope stroked Ciara's hair. "What was it about?"

"There was a scary man in my room." Ciara whimpered. "He wouldn't let me go see you." Ciara cried.

Hope perked up. She looked over at Bo who was thinking the same thing she was. Bo rose quickly from the bed and put Ciara safely in Hope's arms before running across the hall to look in Ciara's room.

"Sh. It's okay baby. Mommy's right here." She held onto Ciara soothing her cries. Hope nervously eyed the bedroom door, waiting for Bo to return.

"Mommy, where did Daddy go?" Ciara looked up at her mother.

"He'll be right back, baby. Don't you worry." Hope kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. Several minutes passed and Bo hadn't returned to their room. She could hear someone walking down the hall. The door to Alicia's room opened and closed.

A few minutes later Bo emerged through their bedroom door. He nodded to her telling her there was nothing to be worried about. Bo scooped Ciara up into his arms. "Daddy chased away the bad man." He tweaked her little nose. "Are you hungry?" He asked her.

"Yes, Daddy." She squealed.

"Well then how about some pancakes?" He asked her.

"Yeah!" Bo laughed as he carried his little girl down to the kitchen to make her breakfast.

……

Alicia tossed and turned all night remembering Vito attacking her both in the mill and in the hospital. Her arms ached where he had grabbed her. She remembered seeing her mother come in several times to check on her. She felt safe enough to fall asleep after seeing her there, but the dreams always made their way back to Vito. She woke up feeling the same way she had at the hospital; as though someone was watching her. She glanced around the room to see if anyone was there. She saw her door opening and her father looked in on her. She was happy to see him standing in her door.

"Hey little one. Are you okay." He was surprised to hear the nickname flow so easily from his lips. She looked so much like Hope, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before now.

"I'm just a little tired. I keep having nightmares about what happened yesterday." She told him.

Bo walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. "I will do everything I can to keep you safe. I won't let that scum touch you again." He brushed strands of hair back from her face tucking it behind her ear. "I'm glad you didn't take off on us again."

"I didn't think I'd get very far with a broken arm and having just come out of brain surgery." She laughed a smile spreading quickly across her face.

Bo chuckled to himself feeling more at ease with Alicia. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead before rising to go back to Hope and Ciara. "Are you hungry?" He called back over his shoulder.

"Not really." She said. "I think I'm going to try sleeping a little more." She laid her head back against the pillow and smiled at her father feeling a little safer now.

"Okay. I'll check in on you in a little while then." Bo closed her door and went back to his room where Hope was waiting anxiously to see if there was anything amiss.

……

Hope watched as Bo carried their daughter out of their room to go down to breakfast. Hope walked into the master bath leaving the door slightly ajar and started her shower. She gingerly steeped out of her pajamas and under the warm stream of water. Hope was startled by a noise and turned to see if anyone was in the room with her. There was no one there. She must have imagined it. She was probably jumpy from the events of the past few days. Hope continued applying soap to her body and washed her hair before rinsing off and stepping out of the shower. She reached for her robe and noticed a shadow of a person moving in her bedroom. She left the water running so as not to draw attention. She quickly wrapped the robe around her and opened the hall door. Hope wasn't sure who could be rifling through her things, but she wasn't taking any chances seeing how she was unarmed. She hurried down the stairs to get Bo.

Bo watched as Hope walked into the kitchen in her bathrobe looking back over her shoulder. He knew something was up. "Hope, what's wrong?" He asked.

"There's someone in our room." She whispered so Ciara wouldn't hear the worried tone of her voice. "I was taking a shower and heard a noise, but I didn't see anything. When I got out I caught a glimpse of someone walking around in our room. I couldn't get to my gun, so I came out through the hall door to get you."

"Stay here. Call Roman for me and I'll go check it out." Bo went to pull his gun out of it's hiding spot.

"Bo! Alicia is upstairs. What if he gets to her?" Hope was worried that Vito had come looking for Alicia here.

"Hope. Call Roman. I'm going to check things out. I won't let anything happen to Alicia." He tried to calm her fears, but knew it was pointless. Bo crept up the stairs to his room carefully easing the door open with his gun and peered inside for signs of movement. He noticed his bedroom window was opened all the way. 'That's odd. The alarm system is on. How could anyone have come in or gone out without setting it off?' He thought. Bo carefully made his way around the room and looked out the window to catch the back of some dark haired guy running off into the woods. He made sure there was no one in the room or master bath. He turned off the shower and went to check on Alicia.

"Bo?" Roman whispered to him as he came up the stairs and faced Bo coming out of his room. "See anything?' He asked.

"Nah. I'm going to check on Alicia to make sure she's alright. I think the guy escaped out my window. There was someone running from the house towards the woods." Bo explained.

"Alicia's here? I thought she just had brain surgery." Roman looked stunned.

"She did, but she was attacked by Vito yesterday in the hospital and ran off. Kayla okayed her staying here with us as long as she got plenty of rest. She'll be checking in on her to make sure she's healing alright." Bo made his way to Alicia's room and peeked in to see her sleeping soundly. He noticed her closet door was open and her window as well. He motioned to Roman to follow him in case he was wrong about the suspect being gone. He quietly crept along the wall until he reached the closet and turned aiming his gun inside. It was empty. He walked over to the window closed and relocked it. Alicia woke from the noise and looked up at him puzzled.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just checking the alarm system." He lied to her not wanting to frighten her anymore than she already had been. "I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep." Bo made sure the window was secure before heading out of Alicia's room.

……

Hope paced around the kitchen waiting for Bo to return. Roman had stopped in to give Bo an update on Higley and Hope gave him the short version of what was happening. She was thankful Roman had stopped in when he did. She peered into the living room, listening intently for any sounds from upstairs. Hope looked over at the clock and watched the minutes tick by endlessly.

Ciara was busily eating her pancakes. She occasionally looked up at her mother, but didn't ask her any questions. She sensed something was wrong.

Chelsea walked in the back door. "Hi Hope. What's going on?" She was concerned seeing Hope pacing around the kitchen.

"Chels, hon. There's someone in the house. Your dad and Uncle Roman are upstairs now. Have you been out all this time?"

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep, so I went for a run and then I met up with Stephanie for coffee at the pub." She answered.

"I don't get how someone could've gotten in the house. The alarm is on. I double checked it before I went to bed last night." Hope was going over the night before in her mind.

"Oh no. This is all my fault Hope. I don't think I reset it when I left this morning." Chelsea's face whitened.

Hope placed her hand on her forehead and rubbed at her temples. "Chels, how could you forget the alarm? There's a man out there after your sister. He's already attacked her twice. What were you thinking?" Hope asked. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell." She hugged Chelsea. "I just want to know that everything is okay. I'm worried. Your dad hasn't returned yet, and Alicia is still sleeping upstairs."

"Dad and Uncle Roman won't let anything happen to Alicia. Besides, I don't hear any noise coming from upstairs, do you? I'm sure if whoever broke in were still here, we'd know about it." Chelsea tried to reassure her.

Bo and Roman returned to the kitchen then and told Hope the suspect was gone. "I don't know how he was able to get in without setting off the alarm, but he escaped out our bedroom window. I think he came in through Alicia's room. Her window was wide open as well. Our security system must be compromised."

"Dad, don't be mad at me." Chelsea bit at her fingertip. "When I left this morning, I forgot to reset the alarm. I'm sorry." Chelsea told him. "It was stupid of me. I know. I wasn't thinking. Is Alicia okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. She slept through everything. What were you thinking?" Bo balled his hands into a fist. "Kid, you need to be on your guard right now. Try not to let it happen again." Bo bit on his lip trying to control his anger. He knew it was an honest mistake. But he didn't like the fact that someone had been in his house lurking around his family.

"Daddy, why are you mad at Chelsea?" Ciara looked from her father to her sister wondering what was going on. "Was she a bad girl?"

"No." Bo calmed down. "I was just scared and I got mad at Chelsea."

"You was scared?" Ciara asked him her face all serious.

"I thought you were in danger. But everything is okay now." Bo picked Ciara up off her chair and held her in his arms. He worried that something could've happened to her this morning. She hadn't had a nightmare after all. Someone had been in her room. He hugged Ciara tighter to him.

"Daddy, you're squishing me." Ciara squirmed in his arms.

Bo eased his grip on her and leaned her back in his arms to look at her face. "Did you eat all your pancakes?" Bo asked changing the subject. Her mouth was smeared with syrup.

"Yes." She played with the strings on her pajama top. "Can I watch cartoons now?" Unaware of the danger the entire family had been in, her four-year-old mind was set on playtime and just being a kid.

"Come on sweetheart." Hope took Ciara form Bo's arms. "I'll go put cartoons on for her and then I'm going to change and check in on Alicia."

……

Hope opened Alicia's bedroom door. Alicia was sitting up in bed. "Hi sweetie. Can I get you anything." She asked.

"Do I really have to stay secluded here? It's kind of boring. Can't I rest just as easily on the couch downstairs where I can be with everyone?" Alicia was unable to fall back to sleep after her father left. She knew he was lying to her about checking the security. She wondered what was really going on. She had a feeling that someone had been in her room watching her. She couldn't prove it, but she had felt his eyes on her while she slept. She didn't feel safe anymore being all alone in her room. She didn't want to lie in bed all day either even though she promised her parents she would do just that.

Hope bit at her bottom lip. "Let me get changed and then I will help you downstairs. Don't go anywhere." She pointed at Alicia and turned to go to her own room. She smiled to herself thinking how much Alicia was like her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Hope wanted me to ask you if you need another blanket." Chelsea said coming down the stairs. She looked over at Alicia who was propped up on the couch with several pillows and just as many throws covering her. "But I can see you probably don't." Chelsea laughed at the sight of her sister. "Hope can be a little over protective when it comes to her kids."

"Yeah I think I have enough blankets…Chelsea… is it?" Alicia asked her.

"Yeah. Um, last night when you came running in here, you asked me who I was and how I knew your name." Chelsea wondered if Alicia had lost her memory.

"I was a little out of it from the meds the doctors had me on. You kind of startled me when I came in. I wasn't expecting to see anyone here. I know we met a few days ago I haven't forgotten." Alicia explained.

"Good. I thought maybe you had lost some of your memory from getting knocked unconscious." Chelsea sat on the couch with Alicia.

"I wish I could've lost some memory." Alicia stated.

"Why?" Chelsea looked at her feeling puzzled by her comment. Why would she want to lose her memory?

"There are some things I wish I could forget about for good." Alicia looked away. "So how exactly are we related? We just share the same dad, but not the same mom?" Alicia asked changing the subject.

"Yeah. It's a long story, but I was adopted when I was little. I had these really wonderful parents whom I thought were my biological parents, but it turns out they weren't. They were killed in a car accident several years ago and that's when I found out I was adopted. My real biological mom, Billie, lives in Europe now. And Hope is more than just a step mom to me. I guess you could say we have a lot in common, you know not growing up with our real parents and all." Chelsea grabbed a cookie off a plate on the table in front of her. "These are really good! You want one?"

"No thanks. I'm sorry about your adopted parents. That must've been hard for you to find out they weren't your real parents." Alicia pulled her knees up wrapping her arms around them and rested her chin on top. "We don't exactly have the same upbringing." Alicia looked sadly over at Chelsea. They were brought up entirely different form one another. Chelsea had been raised by loving parents. She could tell by how she talked about them. Alicia had been raised in captivity. Nothing could compare to the hell she went through.

"I didn't mean that, exactly how it came out. I just meant that neither one of us was raised by our real parents." Chelsea could tell she struck a nerve with her comment. "I can't even begin to imagine what you must have gone through being raised by Stefano. Are those the memories you wish you could forget?" She asked her.

"Those and some others." Alicia breathed in deeply. "It wasn't all bad though. I did have my mom with me for four years. But, one day she just wasn't there anymore and Stefano lied to me saying she had drowned in the river. I was pretty shocked when I came to Salem and found her very much alive and living happily with a family that didn't include me." Alicia looked away as several tears fell out of the corner of her eye.

"From what I've been told, Hope had no memory of her past when they first found her. She didn't even remember dad at first, and he's the love of her life. It took years before she had all her memories back." Chelsea reached out her hand to Alicia.

"She didn't get all of them back." Alicia looked angrily at Chelsea. "I'm tired. I don't want to talk anymore." Alicia lay back against the couch closing her eyes in the hopes that Chelsea would leave her alone.

……

Hope was in the stairwell listening to the conversation Alicia was having with Chelsea. She knew Alicia had been bitter with her when they first met, but didn't know why. 'So Stefano told her I had drowned. She must have been so scared thinking I was never coming back to save her.' Hope walked over to the couch and felt Alicia's forehead making sure her fever wasn't returning. "Chels, would you mind giving us a few moments alone?"

"Sure. I have to be going now anyway." Chelsea grabbed her coat and left. "Bye Hope."

"Bye." Hope sat beside Alicia. "Sweetie, I know you're tired, but I'd like to talk to you." Hope played with the ends of Alicia's long chestnut brown hair. "Alicia?"

"I'm awake." Alicia opened her eyes and lifted herself up to a sitting position. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked gazing intently into her mother's eyes.

"I heard what you were saying to Chelsea. Stefano told you I had drowned?" Hope asked her.

Alicia nodded her head yes and looked away from her mother. She didn't want her mother to know how angry she was at her for leaving her when she did. She remembered her mother telling her she would always be there with her. Then she gave her the locket. It was the last time she ever saw her mother.

Hope took Alicia's hand in hers lightly squeezing it. "Alicia. Look at me sweetheart." Hope gently lifted Alicia's chin to face her. "It must have been really hard for you to think I had abandoned you. You must know, that I would've done everything in my power to find you if I had known you were out there." Hope could see how hurt Alicia was. "I know that Stefano brain washed me to think I was another persona; this Princess Gina.""I know. I was there. You came back and we were together for awhile, and then you started to forget things again." Alicia told her.

Hope was confused. "What do you mean, I came back?"

"You were with me at Maison Blanche and you started acting funny to me. You talked differently and you didn't always remember that I was your daughter. Then one day, you were gone. I didn't see you for months. And then you came back. You were the mother that I remembered again. Then Stefano started doing things to you to make you forget things again. There was this one night, the last one we were together, you gave me a locket and told me you would always be in my heart. You said I would always be in your heart; that Stefano could never take that away from us. I remember Vito coming to take me away. I didn't want to leave you. I just wanted my mommy." Alicia started crying. This was much harder than she thought it would be. She reached her hand up to her eyes to try to stop the tears. "That night I had a bad dream and I wanted to be with you. I tried to go find you, but Vito chased after me. He wouldn't let me see you. I was scared! I was just a little kid." Alicia was sobbing openly now.

Hope reached out and pulled her into her embrace gently stroking her hair trying to soothe her. "I remember hearing you crying for me. I tried to go find you, but Vito stopped me and then I saw you…" Hope bit back on her lip the tears welling up in her eyes. "I saw you fall down the stairs. I saw you lying at the bottom of the stairs and you weren't moving. I thought you were dead." Hope was crying just as much as Alicia. "I think I somehow managed to get away from Vito and I ran to you." Hope held onto Alicia tightening her grip on her. "My little girl. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you woke up." Hope was too choked up to go on. She just continued to hold a sobbing Alicia in her arms. The two of them sat together like that for a long time.

It was the first time Alicia had ever truly let herself feel the pain of losing her mother. She cried until there were no more tears to cry. She had her mother now. Stefano hadn't won after all.

"Baby." Hope pulled back to face Alicia. "Stefano took away my memories. I didn't remember anyone or anything. I had no idea you were even out there. I should've known in my heart something was missing." Hope wiped away the lingering tears from Alicia's face. "I would have moved heaven and earth to find you." She brushed strands of hair out of her face. "I don't know what to say to make it up to you. I, I don't know what to do. Tell me what I can do to make up leaving you there with that…that vile man." Hope couldn't even come up with words to describe what a despicable man Stefano is. She was so angry with him for keeping her from her daughter for all these years.

"All I ever wanted was to find the family you always told me about. And now I have. And you're here and you remember me." A few tears trickled down Alicia's cheek. "I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again. I love you Mom. I never stopped loving you." Alicia wrapped her arms around her mother. She finally felt like she was home.

"I love you too." Hope kissed her daughter's cheek.

……

Hope was doing the dishes when Bo came bustling in the kitchen with Ciara on his back. Ciara was giggling enjoying her piggy back ride. "Giddy up Daddy." Her voice pealed with laughter.

"Whoa!" Bo came to a halt in front of Hope. "Ciara and I would like to know if you'd care to join us for an ice cream sundae?"

Hope laughed at the sight the two of them made. "I'd love to have a sundae with you." She lovingly touched the side of Ciara's face. "I suppose you'd like me to get all the ingredients?" She asked Bo before kissing him.

"Ah that would probably be best seeing how there's a little monkey on my back." He laughed.

"I'm not a monkey." Ciara squealed with glee as Bo started to "gallop" around the kitchen.

"What would you like on your sundae? Chocolate syrup? Nuts? Cherries?" Hope ran off a list of toppings laughing at the two of them jumping around the tight corners.

"I want sprinkles please!" Ciara grinned from ear to ear.

"Sprinkles it is." Hope reached into the cupboard for some bowls and scooped rocky road ice cream into each dish. She added the toppings and set the bowls on the table. The three of them sat down to eat their desert. "Did Roman fill you in on whatever it was he had to tell you?" Hope asked making light conversation.

"The IA moved up Higley's hearing to tomorrow." Bo told her. "I want to question him myself before then."

"Question him?" Hope arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's all you'll be doing?"

Bo laughed sarcastically. "Cute. I'll be a good boy scout. As long as he cooperates." Bo added.

"Brady!" Hope nodded her head knowing he planned to do more than just question Higley. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"Who me?" He smirked at her.

"Daddy?" Ciara climbed out of her chair and onto Bo's lap. "I ate all my ice cream. Can we go play now?"

"I'll clean up here." Hope said. "Go spend some time with Ciara before you have to go back to the office." Hope rose and started clearing away the dishes.

Bo came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair before running kisses along her neck.

"What are you up to, Brady?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He turned her around to face him so he could plant a kiss on her lips. Ciara started giggling at the sight of her parents kissing. Bo chuckled as he reached down to pick the little girl up tossing her high up in the air before catching her in his strong arms. "Come on my little sugar bear. Let's go make a mess for Mommy to clean up." Bo laughed as he ducked away from the dish rag Hope threw at him.

"Would you like to sleep on the sofa tonight?" She jokingly asked. Hope smiled to herself as Bo and their youngest daughter left the room.

……

Bo came from putting Ciara down for a nap. Alicia was sitting up on the couch staring off into space. "Hey Alicia."

"Hi…Dad? Oh, is it okay if I call you that?" Alicia asked her father.

"It's what I am." Bo sat down on the couch next to Alicia. "Look, I know we didn't exactly get off to a good start, but I'd really like it if we started over."

"I'd like that too." Alicia looked up to see if he really meant it. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. They had become closer over the past few days. He didn't seem to look at her judgmentally anymore. She felt at ease with him. She knew he still had a lot of questions for her, but she believed he would listen to her with an open heart. "Are you going to grill me now?" She asked lightheartedly.

"I do have a lot of questions for you. I'm not sure if you're up to answering all of them just yet. Right now, I'd like to learn more about you." Bo sat back on the couch getting comfortable.

"What would you like to know? There really isn't much to tell about me." Alicia eyed him curiously. "I basically spent my entire life locked up in a dungeon."

"You were locked in a dungeon?" Bo sat up straight. "I thought you were at Maison Blanche?" He asked her.

"I was for awhile. I think after Stefano told me mom drowned, he moved me to another one of his homes. I'm not exactly sure where it was. I think we were on an island." She told her father.

"You were on an island?" Alicia nodded yes. "Were you allowed to go outside?" He asked her.

"In the beginning I was allowed to walk around and just be a kid. I pretty much kept to myself. I felt very alone without my mom not being with me anymore. I was really depressed for awhile. Stefano brought in private tutors to teach me. Once I was old enough, he had teachers who taught me kick boxing and other stuff. I wasn't all that interested in it, but he forced me to go along with the lessons." Alicia took a deep breath before continuing. "If I didn't go along with the lessons, he locked me in the dungeon for hours on end. It was cold and damp and there were rats and spiders crawling around in there. I was afraid of them. I hated every second I had to spend there, but I didn't like what he was teaching me either. It didn't feel right."

"What was he teaching you?" Hope asked. She had just entered the living room to find Alicia and Bo deep in conversation. She could see her daughter was struggling to keep her emotions at bay.

Alicia bit at her lip wondering how much she should tell her parents. Would they understand and believe her or would they think she was lying? She decided the best thing to do was tell them the truth; tell them everything. "I was being trained to kill." Alicia glanced at her parents to see if they were shocked by what she said. They didn't seem to be, so she went on. "If I disobeyed Stefano, I was locked in the dungeon. Sometimes he kept me there for weeks on end with little or no food. I went weeks without seeing any sunlight. I was terrified the whole time I was kept in the dungeon. I didn't want to be there, but I didn't want to be taught how to kill either. Sometimes I gave in and acted as though I was going along with what he was teaching me, just so I wouldn't be locked away. He wasn't as mean when I obeyed him. But I always knew what he was teaching me was wrong."

Bo rose from the couch and walked to the front door without saying a word. He grabbed his jacket and opened the door.

Kayla stood there with her arm raised as she was about to knock on the door. "Bo. I was just coming to check on Alicia. How is she?" She asked her little brother.

"See for yourself. She's right there with Hope. I got to run. Take care Kay." He brushed past her and continued to his car before speeding off.

"What was that about?" Kayla asked coming in and shutting the door behind her. "Where is Bo off to in such a hurry?"

"I don't know for sure. He didn't say where he was going. He just got up and left." Hope told her.

"Is everything alright?" She asked looking inquisitively from Hope to Alicia .

"Um everything is fine." Hope told Kayla. "Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you. I just came by to check on my patient here." Kayla placed her hand on Alicia's shoulder.

"Mom? Is dad mad at me?" Alicia asked her mother.

"No. The only person he's angry with right now is Stefano. You did nothing wrong." Hope sat beside Alicia putting her arm around her.

"Alicia, I really think you should be in bed resting. You look a little pale." Kayla told her. "You really aren't well enough to be up and about just yet.""I was bored upstairs." Alicia said without looking up to meet Kayla's eyes. She was feeling overwhelmed with everything. "I didn't want to be alone."

"The best thing you can do for yourself right now is get plenty of rest. I must insist on you going back to bed, or I'll be forced to place you back in the hospital." Kayla helped Alicia stand up and she and Hope walked her back to her room. Alicia obeyed her aunt. She didn't want to be put back in the hospital. She was worried that her father was going after Stefano. She got into bed and lay quietly as Kayla examined her. "You have a slight fever. I want you to get some sleep if you can." Kayla gave Hope detailed instructions and told her to call immediately if there was any change before she left them.

Hope was worried about Alicia. She had been very quiet since Bo left and she looked on the verge of tears. "I'll stay right here with you until you fall asleep." Hope got into bed next to Alicia wrapping her arms around her hugging her close. "Just get some rest and we'll talk more when you're feeling better. I know you could never do the things that Stefano was training you to do." Alicia drifted off to sleep in her mother's embrace.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

_Bo walked up to the Dimera mansion. He rang the doorbell repeatedly and pounded on the door with his fist. He wanted to do the same to Stefano. "Dimera! I know you're in there! Open up!" He continued pounding on the door._

"_Can I help you?" Mary opened the door to an angry Bo._

_Bo walked past her without responding. He forced his way into the living room. "Dimera!" He hollered out. Stefano was nowhere to be found._

"_What is the meaning of this?" EJ walked in behind Bo demanding to know what he was doing in his house. "I just put the children down for their nap. I'd appreciate it if you'd please lower your voice."_

"_Where's your father?" Bo spat out. "I need to see the old man."_

"_He's not here." EJ could see Bo was angry and wondered what his father had done this time. "What do you want with him?"_

"_That's between Stefano and myself. This doesn't concern you, Junior." Bo stormed out of the house. "Where the hell could he be." Bo jumped in his car and sped off. He couldn't believe everything his daughter had been put through. At least now he knew she wasn't under his influence. The video of her on the disc must have been when she was cooperating to keep from being locked in a dungeon. She was pretending to go along with everything. Bo kept driving not knowing where he was headed. His mind kept going over everything Alicia told him about her life. 'Being locked in a dungeon for not wanting to be a trained assassin. I could kill the bastard.' Bo drove on speeding past houses and landmarks. Stefano spent years training his daughter how to kill. He wanted to find him so he could pay him back. Why was he able to get away with everything. Nothing they ever found on him held up in court. He always managed to get away. Bo was going to do everything he could to get Stefano this time. He had hurt too many members of his family._

……

"_Mom?" Alicia woke from a nightmare and reached out to find her mother. "Mom?" She sat up in bed and reached for the lamp on the nightstand. She squinted in the bright light gazing around the room to see if her mother was still there with her. Seeing she was alone, she lay back against the pillow pulling the covers up tightly around her neck. The dream seemed so real. She was in her room and Vito had come back for her. He was holding her down and ripping at her clothes. She could feel his weight crushing her. She couldn't get him off. She struggled to get free and then she woke up. Alicia looked over at the window to see if it was still securely locked. There was no sign of anyone having been in the room uninvited. She still couldn't shake the dream nor could she shake the feeling of Vito holding her down. 'I guess I've been attacked to many times by him.' Alicia closed her eyes and thought about her mother's smile trying to erase the dream from her mind. _

_She drifted back to sleep and dreamed about being at Maison Blanche with her mother. She was sitting on the floor playing with her doll looking up occasionally to watch her mother brush her hair in the mirror. Alicia loved having her mother with her. She wished she could spend more time with her. Stefano kept taking her away from her mother and she didn't like it very much. She didn't understand why she couldn't be with her mother all day. _

_Hope looked over at her baby girl and motioned for her to come sit on her lap. Alicia jumped up and ran over to her climbing up into her lap and hugging her close. "Would you like me to tie up your hair?" Hope asked her. _

"_I want to look like you , Mommy." Alicia said peering up lovingly into her mother's eyes._

"_You look exactly like me, except for those chocolate brown eyes of yours." Hope laughed as she patted her daughter's cheek. "You have your daddy's eyes." She told her._

"_What does my daddy look like?" Alicia asked her mother. _

_Hope reached over to pull out a picture from the draw in her vanity table. "This is a picture of your daddy. Celeste brought it to me just this morning. She knew how much I missed him. See your daddy Alicia?" Hope pointed to Bo in the picture. It was a photo of the two of them that was taken on the Fancy Face. They were sailing off with Shawn D when the picture was taken._

"_Where is my daddy?" Alicia looked up at her mother. "Why isn't he here?" She asked._

"_Your daddy is far away from here, but I know he's out there looking for me. When he finds us, we can go home and be a family with your big brother Shawn and your grandparents and aunts and uncles. You are going to love your family, especially your Great Grandma Alice. That's who I named you after. Alicia Grace after Alice Grayson Horton. You have her smile." Hope hugged Alicia close to her. "Someday, you will meet her and know what a great lady she is."_

…_Alicia slept peacefully remembering her mother holding her close. And feeling more loved than she ever had in her life._

……

_Hope was sitting on the couch with Ciara watching cartoons. Hope couldn't help but remember sitting here the same way with Zack watching Mr. Magoo with him. She smiled remembering his laughter. It was close to six and Bo hadn't come home yet. Hope was beginning to worry what had happened to him. He left the house earlier that morning without saying where he was going, although she had an idea where it might be. She checked her cell again to see if maybe she had missed a call from him. 'Where are you Brady?' she thought to herself. It wasn't like him to not check in with her. _

"_Mommy, I'm hungry." Ciara whined. "When is daddy coming home?"_

"_I don't know baby. I hope it's soon. What do you say we order some pizza?" She asked Ciara._

"_Yeah! I want pepperoni." She jumped up and down clapping her hands. Hope laughed at the sight of her joy._

"_Okay. I'm going to check on Alicia first. I'll be right back." Hope reached out her hand to stroke the top of Ciara's head and went to check on Alicia. She quietly eased her bedroom door open and peeked in to see if Alicia was asleep. She saw Alicia lying peacefully in bed with a smile across her face. Hope left just as quietly and was returning to the living room when she heard a noise coming from her bedroom. Hope cautiously approached her bedroom door and listened intently at the door. If there had been a sound, she didn't hear it anymore. 'Maybe it was just the wind.' She thought to herself. Everything was as quiet as could be. Hope didn't pay any mind to it and went to call for pizza._

……

_Bo was sitting up on the hood of his car looking down at the city lights of Salem. He came to lookout point often when he needed a quiet place to think. He needed to cool off before he went back home. If only Stefano had been home. "Where the hell could he be." Bo had driven around for most of the day trying to get over wanting to kill the old man for what he had done to Alicia. She was an innocent child that he tried to make into one of his soldiers. Bo was furious he hadn't known she existed. He would have done everything he could've to protect her from that monster if only he had known about her. He looked down at his cell to see if he had any missed calls. "Oh damn. No service out here. Hope must be worried sick that I haven't called." He got back in his car and drove until his cell phone came back into service before pulling over to the side of the road. "Hey Fancy Face."_

"_Bo, where are you? I was getting worried something had happened to you." Hope asked him._

"_I'm heading home now. I needed to clear my head. Sorry I didn't call you."_

"_I tried calling you, but it kept going straight to voicemail. Where were you?" Hope asked again._

"_I was up at lookout point. The phone service isn't the greatest up there. I just noticed a few minutes ago my phone was out of service. Sorry about that.' He kept apologizing to her. "Would you like me to pick up something for supper?" He asked her._

"_I just ordered some pizza. Ciara was getting hungry and I wasn't sure what time you'd be home. I love you, Brady." Hope cradled the phone against her ear wishing she could reach him to pull him into a hug. He sounded so distant._

"_I love you to, Fancy Face. I'll be home in a few minutes." Bo smiled as he hung up the phone. Hope always had a way of making everything seem alright. Just the sound of her voice made him feel better._

……

_Hope was in the kitchen getting some plates for the pizza when she heard a sound coming from upstairs. "Maybe Alicia is awake." She placed the plates on the table and ran to check on Alicia. Hope ran up the stairs to Alicia's room and jerked the door open. Alicia was still sound asleep. "Why do I keep hearing noises from up here?" Hope went to her own room to see if anything was disturbed. She didn't find anything out of place, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Hope heard the front door open and close and Bo hollered that he was home. She checked in on Alicia a second time before returning downstairs to greet Bo. _

"_What's wrong?" He asked her seeing the worried look on her face._

"_I don't know. I keep hearing a noise from upstairs. Alicia is sound asleep and nothing seems out of place, but I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right." Hope worried something bad was about to happen._

"_I'll go check on things upstairs. Where's Ciara?" Bo asked looking around for his youngest daughter._

"_She was just here a minute ago watching her cartoons. I was in the kitchen setting the table when I heard the noise and ran to check on Alicia. Now that I think of it, I don't remember her sitting on the couch when I ran upstairs to Alicia's room." Hope was panicking now. "Ciara! Sweetie where are you?" Hope raced upstairs to find her baby. "Ciara!" She was becoming hysterical trying to find her little girl._

_Bo was right behind her looking around to see if he could spot her. "Ciara!" Bo called out to her._

_Ciara came running out of her room at the sound of her parents voices. "I'm right here!" She squealed. "Is it time to eat?" She asked looking up at her parents._

_Hope was in tears. She grabbed onto Ciara and hugged her close. "Why didn't you tell Mommy you were going to play in your room?"_

"_I'm sorry Mommy. Don't be mad." Ciara's bottom lip started quivering at the sight of her mother crying._

"_I'm not mad at you, baby. I was just worried when I couldn't find you." Hope wiped away her tears. "It must have been Ciara I heard when I was downstairs." Hope told Bo shrugging off the noise she heard for a second time that night. "I think I'm just jumpy after the break in we had."_

"_That's understandable with Vito on the loose. Hey I think I heard a car pull up. Must be the pizza guy. What do you say we go eat some pizza?" Bo grabbed Ciara and lifted her to his shoulders carrying her downstairs. The doorbell rang as he reached the bottom step. _

"_I'll get it." Hope was right behind him. After paying the delivery guy for the pizza, the three of them went to eat. Hope saw the kitchen door swinging open out of the corner of her eye and jumped when Alicia appeared in the kitchen. "What are you doing up?" She asked her._

"_I was worried when I heard you both yelling for Ciara. Is she okay?" Alicia asked her._

"_I couldn't find her. She was upstairs playing. I'm sorry if I woke you." Hope told her. "Are you hungry? I can fix you something to eat."_

"_Do you have any plain cheese pizza?" She asked looking at the boxes of pizza on the counter._

"_Sure. Have a seat. I'll fix you a plate." Hope grabbed another plate out of the cupboard and placed a slice of pizza on it. "Did you sleep well? I checked on you earlier and you were smiling in your sleep."_

"_I had a nightmare and I looked for you when I woke up, but then I fell back to sleep and dreamed of a memory of you." She took the plate Hope held out to her._

"_Do you want to talk about the nightmare?" She asked her. _

"_It's the same one I keep having of Vito attacking me." Alicia bit at the corner of her lip. "It just seems so real, that when I wake up I expect to see him there leering at me."_

"_He's not here and your dad and I will do everything we can to keep him from hurting you again." Hope leaned over to give her a hug. "What was the memory you had?"_

_Alicia's face brightened into a wide smile. "I was remembering the time I asked you what my dad looked like." She glanced over at her father. "You look the same as you did in the picture she showed me of you."_

"_I had a picture of your dad? I didn't think I had anything personal with me when I was with you." Hope looked puzzled._

"_You told me Celeste had given it to you, because you missed dad so much." Alicia was a little saddened her mother didn't remember everything yet. She wished she did so she could at least share those memories with her in the "remember when?" kind of way._

"_Celeste? Oh my god. I completely forgot she was there too." Hope looked over at Bo to see the stunned look of comprehension dawning on his face. "She knew about Alicia. She never mentioned anything to either one of us. Why?" Hope was upset. Celeste should have mentioned Alicia to her when her memories had returned and she knew who she was. Why hadn't she?_

"_Is she back in town? I'd like to find out why she kept that little known fact from us." Bo got up to call Abe._

"_Mom?" Alicia didn't know what was going on. "Celeste has been in Salem?" She asked her._

"_Yes. She's a friend of the family." She told her._

"_A friend? She worked for Stefano. How could she be a friend?" Alicia thought it was strange her mother would consider Celeste a friend when she never helped to free them from Stefano. _

"_Alicia. A lot has changed since I was held captive by Stefano. Celeste always took good care of us. She was under Stefano's power as well." _

"_She worked for him!" Alicia couldn't understand how her mother could consider her a friend. She was getting aggravated._

"_Alicia, calm down. You shouldn't be getting so upset." Alicia was turning red. Hope didn't want her to end up back in the hospital. "Look whatever she did or didn't do, it's in the past. There's nothing we can do to change that." Hope tried to calm Alicia. "Alicia, please, you need to calm down. We'll get to the bottom of this, but you need to think about your health right now."_

"_I just don't get how you could be her friend?" Alicia stated, but saw how worried her mother was about her, so she did her best to relax._

……

_Hope lay in Bo's arms, her head resting against his chest, gently twisting his chest hair in her fingers. It had been a long day for all of them. She still felt uneasy after finding an intruder in their house. _

"_What are you thinking about?" Bo asked Hope._

"_Everything." She looked up at his face and reached over to kiss him. "I hope Celeste gets the message from Abe to call us as soon as possible. I want to know why she kept Alicia from us."_

"_You're not going to get any sleep if you keep going over everything that happened today. Why don't you place those gorgeous lips back on mine and I'll make you forget about everything." Bo pulled Hope onto him as his lips caught hers in a long passionate kiss. His hand reached up to grab her hair in his hands and he rolled over pulling her under him as he did. "Are you thinking about anything now?" He asked her laughing playfully._

"_Just that you need to finish what you start. Get back over here Brady." Hope pulled him back down to her lips. "Make love to me Brady." Her voice came huskily in his ear._

_Bo peeled her clothes off trailing her body with kisses sending tingles along her spine as he did. He met her mouth again and gently nibbled at her upper lip. _

_Hope placed her hands on Bo's chest feeling the hard muscles play beneath them. Her mind drifted away from the events of the day with every touch and every kiss Bo gave; her body arching in response beneath his. They continued making love through the night. Their bodies moving in unison. _

_The morning light rose across their entangled bodies as they lay comfortably in each others embrace. Hope stretched her body rousing Bo in the process._

"_Hey Fancy Face. Did you just wake up?" He asked pulling her body closer to his and kissed the back of her neck. "I was having this great dream of you and I making love.""It wasn't a dream." She turned to face Bo and started kissing him. "Did it go something like this?" She ran her hands down his chest and slowly back up again. Her mouth drawing a passionate kiss from his before moving down to his chest. "What time do you have to be to work?" She looked up seductively from his chest._

"_Trying to get rid of me?" He laughed. Bo reached out to run his finger across her lips and followed with his mouth. They made love again before getting up to shower and change._

……

_Alicia slept fretfully through the night. She could feel his eyes watching her making her uncomfortable. She woke continuously gazing around the dark room for signs of Vito. Why did she feel as though he were in the room with her? She couldn't see him, nor did she hear any sounds. It was just a feeling that she had he was there with her in the room. She wondered if she should call out to her parents. Would they think she was acting childishly? She tossed and turned going from one dream to another; all of them being of Vito grabbing her and holding her down. His mouth pressed against hers making her feel sick inside. She woke from the nightmare crying softly into her pillow. She didn't want to worry her parents over a nightmare. Alicia heard movement coming from inside the closet. Was she just imagining it? She was too afraid to move to find out. The closet door slowly eased open; Alicia's eyes grew large. She tried to scream, but her voice came out barely above a whisper. _

_Vito crossed the room to her bed in quick strides. He reached out and grabbed her mouth with one hand, grabbing her by the waist with the other and pulled her to her feet. Alicia kicked at him in futile attempts. He dragged her to the bedroom door, easing it open listening intently for any sound. Alicia tried kicking him again. He gripped her tighter to his body and pulled out a gun. He placed it at her temple. "Make one sound and I'll kill you." He whispered into her ear. Vito dragged her out of the room and made his way down the stairs. He turned off the alarm and opened the front door. He had been in the house for hours spying on the family; biding his time until he could escape with Alicia._

_Alicia made a last attempt to get away. Vito was too strong for her. She didn't know what to do. She grabbed at his arm clawing it with her fingernails. She could see blood forming where she scratched and fall in large drops to the ground. She noticed a planter on the ground and kicked it over with her foot. _

_Vito was angry with her. When he heard the planter crash over and shatter, he grabbed Alicia and slung her over his shoulder. She let out a small scream. Vito raced to the street where his car was parked hidden from view of the house. He opened the driver side door and shoved Alicia inside, climbing in next to her before she had a chance to escape out the passenger side door. He started the car and sped off as the sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon._

……

_Hope emerged from the bathroom first, going to check on Ciara and then Alicia. Ciara lay snuggly in her bed, snoring softly in the morning light. Hope bent down to kiss the top of her head before turning to go to Alicia's room. She felt bad for not looking in on Alicia during the night. She knew she was still recovering from the surgery. Hope noticed the bedroom door was open and looked in to find Alicia's bed empty. She thought it was odd that Alicia would be up so early. She left to go downstairs to see if maybe Alicia was on the couch or eating breakfast. Bo was coming out of their room as she walked by._

"_Alicia still asleep?" He asked her knowing she had probably gone to check on their daughters. _

"_No. Her bed is empty. She must be downstairs." Hope walked down the steps with Bo right behind her. She glanced over at the couch before pushing the kitchen door open. "She's not here." Hope turned to Bo. "Where could she be?"_

"_You sure she wasn't upstairs? Maybe in the bathroom?" He asked._

"_There was no one in the bathroom. She wasn't in her room either." Hope was starting to panic. She knew there was something wrong last night. If only she had listened to her gut. They both searched the house from top to bottom, but there was no sign of Alicia. Her closet door stood open. Hope looked inside to see if anything was missing. She knew Alicia was upset over Celeste and thought maybe she might have run off on them. None of her clothes were missing. She and Bo went back downstairs to check for signs of a struggle or even a break in. _

_Bo walked over to the front door to see if the alarm was still set. He jerked open the front door when he realized someone had turned off the alarm. Bo noticed the planter lying in broken pieces on the walk. He bent down to look at the mess for clues and found several dried up spots of blood on the ground. "Hope, you might want to radio in for backup. I think Alicia was kidnapped." _

_Hope's face paled. "No! Tell me she isn't missing!" Her eyes pleaded with Bo's. "I promised her we wouldn't let anything happen to her._


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

_Alicia looked out the window every few seconds. They were leaving Salem. 'Where was Vito taking her?' Alicia looked over at Vito who was staring straight ahead. She looked back at the door and thought about jumping out. They were speeding down the highway. She reached out for the door handle._

"_Don't even think about it." Vito aimed his gun into her gut. "You try to jump out and it'll be the last thing you do." Vito kept his eyes on the road holding the gun on Alicia as they drove on. "Stefano is going to be happy that you're back."_

_Alicia felt sick to her stomach. She wondered how she'd get out of this one. She saw her chance when Vito swerved to avoid an oncoming car driving erratically towards them. He waved his hand with the gun in it at the driver yelling obscenities at him. Alicia grabbed the wheel and swerved the car into an embankment crashing them into a tree. Vito's head hit the steering wheel, knocking him out temporarily. Alicia hopped out of the car and ran off as quickly as she could. _

"_Hey miss!" A man called out to her. He was running towards the crash scene. "Would you like me to call for some help? I saw the car crash. Is anyone hurt?" Alicia neared the man cautiously wondering whether or not to trust him. "I think the driver is, but I'm not sure. You can call my dad he's the Salem police commissioner. The man driving the vehicle …." Alicia felt the cold steel of a gun against her back. _

_Vito held her good arm and pulled her against him. "Ha ha, Alicia. You didn't think you'd get away from me that easily, now did you?" Vito hissed into her ear. Tell the nice man everything is okay."_

"_Look! He's fine. Don't bother calling my dad. He'll just worry for nothing." Alicia tried to cover._

"_Are you sure everything is okay?" The man looked back and forth from Vito to Alicia. "I can still call your dad for you. Sir you might want to see a doctor. Looks like quite a bump on your head."_

"_No that won't be necessary." Vito leered at the man._

"_Don't mind him. He's a tough guy. This is my good friend Vi..inny." Alicia stuttered when Vito pushed the gun hard into her back. "We're fine. Thanks." Alicia watched as the man turned around and walked back to his car leaving her to deal with Vito._

"_Now that we got that settled, looks like you need to be punished. You've been a bad girl tonight." Vito pushed Alicia into the woods and shoved her to the ground. He straddled her pushing her back farther against the muddy ground. Her nightwear was thin; the mud soaking into her. She shivered from the cold. Vito crushed her lips with a kiss. He reached down and lifted her shirt feeling her skin with his hand._

_Alicia cried out trying to get him to stop. She wished the man hadn't left so easily. Maybe he would still call her father and get her some help. She tried pushing at Vito, but he was too strong for her. He was suddenly lifted off her. She looked up to see her worst nightmare. "Stefano." Alicia froze. "NO!" Stefano towered over her as she still lay on the cold muddy ground._

"_My dear sweet Alicia. You disappoint me. My prized pupil and you can't even defend yourself against this." Stefano shoved Vito away. "You imbecile! What the hell were you thinking?" Stefano rounded on Vito bringing his hand up swiftly to knock Vito in the head. _

_Alicia watched as Stefano hit Vito a second time. His back was turned to her. She rose up from the ground and ran as fast as she could trying to get as far away from them as she could._

……

"_BO? Is there any news?" Hope asked him before he even had time to walk in the front door. "I've called the family. They're all out looking for Alicia too." Hope helped Bo with his jacket. "So?"_

"_We haven't found her yet. I've got all my men out looking for her. We'll find her." Bo pulled Hope close holding her tightly in his embrace. Her face was ashen with worry. He wished there was more he could do for her. "Did you find someone to watch Ciara?" he asked._

"_Aunt Maggie's on her way now. Bo? Do you think Stefano is behind his?" She asked._

"_No doubt in my mind. As soon as Maggie gets here we'll go look for her together." Bo held her close rubbing her back. Bo's cell rang. "Hello?" He asked. "Yes, this is Commissioner Brady. What can I do for you?"_

"_I just witnessed a crash on the highway. A young girl was in it. She said she's your daughter. She and the man she was with are doing fine… or at least that's what they said."_

"_Where.."_

"_She told me to call you at first, but when the guy came up behind her, she had a different story to tell. Said he was a tough guy named Vinny. I think that's what she called him." He didn't let Bo speak, just kept rattling on. "Anyway she told me not to bother you with a call that you'd be worried about her. Something didn't fit right with the picture though. He didn't seem like he was her friend at all. So I thought to myself, I should try and reach her father. Maybe she's alright and she'll be mad for me calling you, but maybe she isn't." _

"_Sir if I could just…" Bo tried to get some information from the guy._

"_Didn't look right. He's so much older than her, not that that matters nowadays. But he was bleeding from the head. Had a big bump, probably from the crash. Your daughter looked fine though. Hardly a scratch on her. She's a cutie that one. Might want to keep an eye on her. She wasn't really dressed for the outdoors neither if you know what I mean. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think they had a little something going on. As I was driving away, I noticed the two of them going at it down in the mud, if you catch my drift."_

"_Sir! Could you please stop talking long enough to answer some questions?" Bo yelled into the phone. "Where did you witness this crash? Did you call it in to the state troopers?"_

"_I called first thing so they could check it out. I'm not a dummy. How do you think I got your number?"_

"_Where was the crash?" Bo asked again. He was getting aggravated with the conversation and wanted to know where his daughter was._

"_It was about a mile out of Salem, heading north on I-80."_

"_Thanks." Bo hung up on him without saying bye. "I have an idea where Alicia might be." Bo said looking at Hope's worried face. Maggie came in just in the nick of time. "Hey Maggie. Thanks for coming. We just got a lead on Alicia." Bo and Hope left to find their daughter._

……

_Bo was speeding down the highway trying to get information from the state troopers on his cell. "Was there any sign of her? How about the guy? He's six-foot-one, goes about 220, hazel eyes, and black hair. Nothing fitting that description? Have you searched the whole area?" Bo glanced over at Hope trying to give her details of the phone conversation. "What about the car? Is there anything in it we can use to go on?"_

"_Bo? Did they find her?" Hope asked him._

"_No. They're still combing the area for clues. They haven't found anything yet."_

"_Where could they have gone to? It's a highway surrounded by woods. There isn't a house around for miles." Hope looked frantically along the side of the road. She stared until her eyes watered trying to catch a glimpse of movement. What if Vito had hurt her again. Bo gave her the details of the conversation the witness to the crash had told him. Vito must have tried to rape Alicia again. When would he be caught and stopped for good?_

"_Yeah. I'm coming around the bend now. I see the cruisers." Bo interrupted Hope's thoughts. He pulled the car over to the side and jumped out to talk to the state trooper. "What do you have for me?" Bo asked him._

"_Not much sir. We have a few shredded pieces of clothing, some footprints over here, and traces of blood on the steering wheel which we already knew the perp had hit his head."_

"_Damn. Let me see the pieces of clothing." Bo reached out to take the evidence bag from the trooper. "This is Alicia's. Where did you find it?" Bo asked._

"_Some here by this tree. Looks like there was a struggle. The witness claimed they were fooling around here." The trooper could tell Bo wasn't pleased with the description. "I don't see that as the case. Not when we have ripped clothing found in several areas along the highway."_

"_What" Bo thought it was contained to the one area. If they found clothing along the highway, it means she was trying to escape. "Where else did you find the clothes? I want to see." The trooper led Bo to all the areas the pieces of clothing had been found. "Were there anymore signs of a struggle?" He asked him._

"_We found two more areas that look as though a struggle took place. Over here as you can see; looks like someone was dragged." Bo's heart sunk. What the hell did that bastard do to his daughter? "We found most of the torn clothing here." He pointed to the ground where the dragging marks were._

"_Bo? What is it?" Hope inquired when she caught up to him. "The officer over there seems to think Alicia got away." Hope could see by Bo's face that wasn't the case. "BO?" She said weakly. Her eyes starting to tear up knowing it wasn't good news._

"_Sorry, Fancy Face. It doesn't look good." Bo stared at the evidence bag containing his daughters ripped clothing. He wanted to tear Vito apart limb from limb. _

……

_Alicia lay quietly on a high limb of a tall oak tree. She shivered in the cool winter air. She watched as Stefano and Vito ran around looking for her before getting into his car and leaving. Stefano clobbered Vito a few times calling him an idiot. How could he have let her get away? Alicia chuckled to herself. She enjoyed seeing Vito punished. After several minutes passed and Alicia was sure Stefano wasn't returning, she tried to climb back down from the tree. Her broken arm kept getting in the way. It had been much easier to climb up than to climb down. Alicia slipped several times tearing her shirt in the process. Just as she was about to reach the bottom, her bare foot slipped and she fell the last few feet to the ground. "OW!" Alicia cried out in pain. _

_Her leg was in pain from the fall. Alicia propped herself on her elbows and dragged her body along the ground trying to get closer to the tree so she could stand. Her pajama bottom caught on a tree root and tore off half the pant leg. Alicia cried as the root scratched her leg. She reached the tree and managed to pull herself to a sitting position. "OW!" She cried out again. Her ankle had taken the brunt of the fall. Alicia reached down to her torn pajamas and shredded some more off the bottom. She wrapped it around her ankle and picked up a broken tree branch to use for a crutch. Alicia hobbled along in the cold air. She kept along the side of the road, hoping to find someone to give her a ride. She kept her eyes peeled on the road for a passing car. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and tripped over a hole in the ground. She fell into a patch of thorn bushes, tearing off more of her pajamas. Her arms were scratched in the process leaving blood stains on the torn clothing. _

_A car pulled over to the side of the road. A woman emerged to see if she was harmed in the fall. "Oh you poor thing. What happened to you?" The woman asked her as she helped Alicia to her feet. _

"_I was kidnapped and then I was in a car accident and now I'm trying to find my way home." Alicia told the woman. She had a kind face. Alicia thought she could trust her._

"_We should go to the police station." The woman told her. She helped Alicia into the car._

"_I'd really like to go home. My dad is the Commissioner. He can take care of everything." Alicia was exhausted from the whole ordeal. She just wanted to see her parents and hug them tight. _

"_Where do you live?" The woman asked._

"_Salem." _

"_Really? I'm from Salem. Wait! Who are your parents? Isn't the commissioner Abe Carver?" She asked Alicia._

"_No. He's the mayor. How long have you been away from Salem?" Alicia asked her._

"_Too long. Far, far too long. So Abe is the mayor now. Good for him. I always thought he'd make a good Mayor." The woman turned her car on and headed it back towards Salem. "Who did you say your father is?"_

"_Bo Brady." Alicia answered._

_The woman looked at her stunned. "Bo Brady is your father? And he's the commissioner? That's something I never saw coming." She laughed at the idea of Bo Brady wearing a suit and sitting behind a desk pushing papers. _

……

"_Has there been any news?" Julie and Doug asked as they entered Bo and Hope's house. Maggie was watching Ciara._

"_I haven't heard anything." Maggie told them. "Bo got a call right before they left the house and said he had a lead on Alicia. I haven't heard anything since."_

"_I wonder what it could be." Julie heard the doorbell ring and went to answer the door. "Caroline. Here let me help you." She grabbed a pan of steaming hot clam chowder from Caroline. Her arms were loaded down with bags of food. "This smells delicious."_

"_I thought since everyone was out searching for my granddaughter, the least I could do was provide some food. There's another pan in the car. I made a vegetable stew for Alicia in case she's found." Caroline came in and brought the bags of food to the kitchen._

"_Caroline, you know Bo will not rest until his daughter is found. I'm sure she'll be home soon." Doug reassured her. "I'll go grab the other pan for you." _

"_Thank you, Doug." _

_Doug returned with the stew and a few more people. Kayla and Steve were just pulling into the driveway when Doug went for the stew. "Look who I found outside."_

"_Maggie." Kayla hugged Maggie. "Has there been anymore news? Steve and I were out searching for Alicia, but we haven't had any luck."_

"_Doug and I searched the riverfront." Julie added. "There was no sign of her. But Maggie was just telling us Bo got a lead on her."_

"_Has he called?" Kayla asked._

"_No. I haven't heard from him since he and Hope left an hour ago." Maggie answered._

"_Hey everyone." Chelsea came in with Max. "Is there any news? Max and I have been all over looking for Alicia. We didn't have any luck."_

"_Bo got a lead and we're waiting to hear back from him." Julie told her._

"_Where's Stephanie? I thought she and Philip were out looking with you two." Kayla asked Chelsea._

"_She was. She and Philip are still looking. I was just hoping to come home and find Alicia here. I should call Stephanie and let her know that Dad got a lead on Alicia, so they can come here and wait with the rest of us." Chelsea reached into her purse for her cell when the front door opened and Alicia entered._

"_Alicia!" Everyone was shouting at once. "Where have you been? Are you okay? Did Bo find you? What happened? Are you okay? What happened to your clothes?" _

_Alicia didn't know who to answer first. She looked around at all the faces; some familiar to her and others complete strangers to her. She searched for her mother's face and looked back at Chelsea. "Are Mom and Dad here?" She asked Chelsea avoiding all the questions that were still being fired in her direction. She wanted to feel her mother's arms around her and she needed her daddy to make her feel safe again._

"_Aren't they with you? How did you get home? What happened to you?" Chelsea fired at her._

"_I guess that means they're not here. Do you know where they are?" She asked her sister._

"_They're out looking for you!" Chelsea yelled at her. "Where were you? We all thought something bad had happened to you. What did you do? Run off again?"_

"_Chelsea." Kayla nodded disapprovingly at her. "Come here sweetheart. Let me have a look at you." Kayla guided Alicia over to the couch. "What happened to your ankle?" She noticed Alicia was limping and saw the bandage wrapped around her ankle._

"_I fell out of a tree and landed on it." Alicia answered._

"_A tree, huh? Is that how you got all those scratches too?" She looked over Alicia's arm, legs, and face. "Steve? Would you get my bag for me out of the car?"_

"_Sure thing Sweetness." _

"_I scratched my leg trying to get up off the ground and I also fell in some thorn bushes. I hit my head when I crashed the car too." Alicia rattled off the many mishaps she'd had since being kidnapped early that morning. "I hope that doesn't mean you're going to take me back to the hospital again." She looked worriedly at her aunt._

"_You were in a car crash? Did you lose consciousness?" She asked her._

"_I grabbed the wheel of the car to crash it so I could get away from Vito. I didn't lose consciousness." _

"_So Vito was the one who kidnapped you. Did he hurt you?" Alicia avoided looking in her aunts eyes and didn't answer her._

_Steve returned with Kayla's bag. "Why don't we go upstairs so I can look you over." Kayla led Alicia up to her room._

"_Was I this much of a problem when I first came into the family?" Chelsea mumbled to herself._

"_Worse." Julie said walking past her to go call Bo. She grabbed the phone and dialed Bo's cell. "Darling, Alicia is safe at home."_

"_Is she alright? Did she say what happened?" Bo questioned her._

"_We don't have the whole story just yet. Kayla is here and she's examining her right now."_

"_Hope and I will be home soon. We're not that far from Salem. Will you tell Alicia we love her?" Bo asked._

"_Of course I will." Julie hung up with Bo. _

……

_Bo and Hope returned to a house full of people. "Where is she?" Hope asked glancing around the room. "Is she okay."_

"_She's still upstairs with Kayla." Caroline told her. _

_Hope raced up the stairs. "Kay, is she alright?" Hope went over to Alicia and hugged her._

"_I'm okay, now that I'm back home." Alicia held onto her mother not wanting to ever let go. _

"_What happened? Who took you? Your dad and I were at the crash site. We saw evidence of a struggle. Was it Vito? Did he hurt you?" Hope badgered her with questions. She was so happy to see her daughter safe at home, but she wanted to know what had happened to her. "How did you get away?"_

"_Should we wait until I can tell both you and Dad, so I don't have to repeat myself?" Alicia asked her._

"_I'm right here." Bo said poking his head around the door. "You okay?" He walked over to Alicia and kissed the top of her head. "I was really worried about you."_

_Alicia held out her arms to Bo. He hugged her tight. "I was scared I would never see either of you again." Alicia said._

"_Why don't I give the three of you some privacy." Kayla left them sitting together in a family hug._

"_Kay?" Hope said. "Is she going to be alright?"_

"_She has a sprained ankle. I've wrapped it, so she should be fine. She has some scratches that will heal in no time. She'll be just fine, Hope. Don't worry." Kayla closed the door and returned to the living room._

"_What happened?" Bo asked Alicia._

"_Vito was in the house the whole time. He never left after he broke in. He must have had someone with him to make it look like he got away." Alicia explained. "He tried to rape me again." Alicia started crying. Bo and Hope both held onto her. "He had a gun and he said if I screamed he would kill me. I kicked the planter over hoping it would wake you."_

"_I'm sorry, sweetie. We didn't hear anything." Hope told her._

"_I knew I had to get away from him. I saw my chance when he looked away. I pulled on the steering wheel to crash the car so I could get away."_

"_But we found signs of a struggle. And there was a witness who saw you with Vito." Hope was wondering if Vito had attacked her more than once._

"_There was a man who saw the crash and asked if I was okay. I tried to get him to help me, but then Vito must have regained consciousness and pushed his gun into my back. He made me say things to make the guy go away." Alicia explained. "And then he attacked me again."_

"_Did he rape you?" Hope asked her._

"_He tried to, but Stefano stopped him."_

"_Stefano? What the hell? What was Stefano doing there?" Bo asked her._

"_I don't know, but he kept Vito from raping me. He reprimanded him too, which was when I made my escape." Alicia smiled at the memory of Vito getting clobbered in the head._

"_How did you manage to get away from them? The state trooper found your ripped clothes all over. There was even a spot further away from the crash that looked like someone had been dragged." Bo was trying to figure it out in his head._

"_When Stefano and Vito were distracted, I ran off and found a tree I could climb up. I hid there until I saw them leave. Then when I tried to climb back down, I fell on my ankle and sprained it. I had to drag myself to the tree so I could wrap my ankle. And then I tried to find someone to give me a ride back home. I was watching the road and didn't notice a whole in the ground and I tripped and fell into some thorn bushes. I ripped my clothes several times during the whole ordeal. Some woman saw me fall and stopped to help me. She's the one who drove me here."_

"_Who was she?" Bo asked her._

"_I don't know. I never got her name. But, she seems to know you. She thought it was funny that you're the commissioner."_

"_I wish I knew who she was, so I could thank her for getting you back home." Bo hugged Alicia. "I'm glad you're going to be okay."_

"_You look a little tired, sweetie. I think you should get some sleep." Hope told her._

"_Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" _

_Hope crawled into bed beside Alicia and held her close until she drifted off to sleep._

"_I wonder who this woman is?" Bo stated._


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

"_Hey Dad. Where is everyone?" Melissa entered her grandmother's living room._

"_Melissa. Did you just get in? Your mom is going to be so happy to see you. She's over at Bo and Hope's house. And Mom is upstairs resting. She's not feeling to well today." Mickey told Melissa about Alicia being kidnapped and how everyone was out looking for her. "Your mother is watching Ciara."_

"_I just dropped Alicia off at their house. She never mentioned she was kidnapped. The poor thing was bare foot and wearing next to nothing. I felt bad for her standing out there in the cold. She told me Bo is the commissioner now. When did that happen? I know I've been in Europe, but how come no one told me? And when did Bo and Hope have another child?" Melissa had a lot of catching up to do._

"_Alicia showed up in Salem about a week ago. She's been held prisoner by Stefano for all these years. Hope was his prisoner when Alicia was born. She had no memory of her until recently." Mickey told her._

"_And she is Bo's child?" Melissa asked._

"_Yes. They had a DNA test run on her. Hope must have been pregnant when she was … when we thought she had been killed."_

"_Wow, that's unbelievable that Stefano had her all these years. Hope must be thrilled and angry at the same time. On the one hand she finds out she has this beautiful daughter, on the other hand she finds out Stefano raised her and took her memories of her away. I can't imagine what she must be going through. I should go over there and see how Alicia is. She insisted on going straight home, but she was hurt." Melissa grabbed her purse, kissed her father, and left for Hope's._

……

_Hope was coming down the stairs when the doorbell rang. "Melissa! How are you?" She pulled her cousin into a hug. "When did you get back? How come you didn't call me to tell me you were coming home?" Hope couldn't believe her cousin was here. _

"_Hope, I'm so happy to see you." Melissa beamed. "I've missed you. We have so much to catch up on. Bo is commissioner! When did that happen?"_

"_Hey, Melissa." Bo gave her a hug. "I was sort of dragged into being the commissioner. When did you get back?" _

"_Just a little while ago. I went to see Grandma and Dad told me Mom was here."_

"_She is. She just went to help Caroline with the food. Come here and give me a hug." Julie grabbed Melissa. "It's been to long."_

"_Julie. Doug. How are you?" Melissa was so happy to see her family._

"_Melissa!" Maggie had just come in from the kitchen. She ran to give her daughter a hug. "I didn't think you were going to get in until tomorrow."_

"_I booked an earlier flight so I could surprise you, but it turns out I'm the one who got surprised." She turned to Hope. "You have a daughter?"_

"_How did you find out? Not that we were planning on keeping it a secret." Hope was shocked to find out she knew. "Did Uncle Mickey tell you?"_

"_No, actually it was Alicia who told me." Melissa said._

"_Alicia?" Hope looked puzzled. "When did you meet Alicia?"_

"_I gave her a ride home earlier. I had no idea that she had been kidnapped. She insisted I bring her here."_

"_You're the one who picked her up?" Bo asked._

"_I saw her fall and she looked like she had been hurt pretty badly. I wanted to bring her to the hospital, but she didn't want to go. So I drove her here. And I really wanted to see my parents, so I didn't stay. Had I known my mom was here, I would've come in. Is she okay?" Melissa asked._

"_She's upstairs resting. Kayla was here so she examined her. She's going to be fine. Thank you for bringing her home." Hope hugged her cousin again. She was on the verge of tears. "I'm so glad you found her. We were so worried."_

"_So, tell me everything! I want to know what she's like. Who she takes after? Where she's been all this time? Do you have any memories of her? Dad mentioned a little to me." Melissa grabbed Hope by the arm and walked her to the couch. She was like a school girl gushing over the latest gossip. Her spirit had Hope laughing for the first time that day. Hope filled Melissa in on everything and Melissa filled the family in on everything that had been happening in her life. _

"_I still can't believe you have another child, Hope. I haven't even had one. I'm so jealous." Melissa and Hope both laughed. "You know you guys are turning into the Brady bunch." Everyone laughed at that._

"_I've missed having you around. How long are you staying?" Hope asked her._

"_That's what I'd like to know." Maggie piped in._

"_I'm not sure just yet." Melissa answered._

"_Well I hope you stick around for awhile." Maggie told her. "I miss having my daughters here. Now if only we could get Sarah to come home."_

"_I say we make a plan to bring our children home. I would love for my son to sail back home with my granddaughter." Hope wanted all her children home. JT was with Glen and Barb. Zack was… Zack was in her heart. And Shawn was off sailing with Belle and Claire. She missed them all so terribly. "Aunt Maggie, I don't know how you do it, not being able to see your kids for so long. It's killing me not to see my boys." Bo reached over and placed his hand on Hope's shoulder squeezing it lightly. He knew she wasn't only thinking of Shawn. _

"_I think we need to throw a party. Invite all the family. Get them all back home." Julie said. "Let's have a Horton/Brady family reunion."_

"_I love it." Hope smiled at her sister. _

"_We could have it at Chez Rouge." Maggie suggested. "I could close it down for the whole evening. I'm already thinking about the menu."Melissa laughed. "Food? Is that all you can think about?"_

"_Did someone mention food?" Caroline entered from the kitchen. "I have a pot of steaming hot chowder ready to be eaten."_

_They all looked at each other and burst out laughing._

"_Did I miss something?" Caroline looked around at everyone laughing and staring at her._

"_Mom." Bo laughed and grabbed her in a hug. "How about some of that chowder everyone?"_

……

_Alicia lay in bed with her eyes closed. She could feel someone looking at her intently. 'Vito couldn't have gotten in here again, could he?' She slowly raised her eyelids and came face to face with Ciara. "Hi." She said._

_Ciara stood eye level with Alicia. She stared at her sister curiously. She wondered if she was going to be nice to her like Chelsea and Shawn were. "Hi." Ciara said shyly. "Are you sick?" She asked her._

"_No." Alicia propped herself up on her elbows._

"_How come you have to stay in bed? I want to play with you." Ciara was curious about all the new bandages on Alicia. "Does your head still hurt?" She asked her._

"_No. My head feels a lot better. But, Aunt Kayla won't let me take the bandage off until I'm completely healed. Just like this cast on my arm. Once my arm is all better, the doctors will take it off." Alicia moved over so Ciara could climb onto the bed with her._

"_What happened to your leg?" Ciara pointed at the wrapped ankle._

"_I fell in a giant hole!" Alicia held her hands out over emphasizing the size of the hole. _

_Ciara giggled. She liked her new sister. She was funny. "You're silly." Ciara told her._

"_I'm silly, huh?" Alicia tickled Ciara making her laugh really hard. "I'm going to get you." She moved her finger in a tickle motion and went to tickle Ciara again._

_Ciara laughed trying to squirm away from the tickle bug. "Will you read me a story?" She asked._

"_What kind of story do you want me to read to you?" _

"_The Wizard of Oz_. It's my favorite story." Ciara's eyes grew big as she described the story to Alicia. "I want to get ruby slippers like Dorothy. Mommy said I can." Ciara beamed.

"So this is where my girls are." Hope walked into the room and went to sit on the edge of Alicia's bed. "How are you feeling?" She asked her.

"I'm a little sore, but I feel fine." Alicia told her.

"Mommy." Ciara climbed onto her mother's lap and hugged her. "Alicia is going to read me a story."

"She is?" Ciara nodded her head yes vigorously.

"I'm going to get it now. I'll be right back." Ciara raced off to her room.

Hope smiled watching Ciara run off. "How are you really feeling?" She turned back to Alicia. "You okay?"

"I'm still pretty shook up by everything. I don't know if I'll ever feel like I don't have to look over my shoulder again. I mean Vito has attacked me like so many times now." Alicia pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

"I'm sorry we weren't able to keep him from getting to you again. I wish I had listened to my gut. I knew something wasn't right."

"Mom. You couldn't have known he was here. No one did. He made it look like he had gotten away." Alicia didn't blame her mother.

"I know, sweetie, I just wish.."

Alicia reached over to hug her mother. "It's not your fault. The only ones to blame are Vito and Stefano."

"I'm back!" Ciara ran over to the bed with her book and climbed up beside Alicia.

Hope got up to go downstairs. "Can I get you anything?" She asked.

"No. We're fine. Right?" She asked Ciara.

"Right." Ciara agreed.

"Mom?" Alicia called to her. "Where's dad?" She asked.

"He had to go in to the office. He has a lot of work to catch up on." Hope answered.

"Because of me?" Alicia asked.

"No sweetie, it's not because of you. There's just a lot of paperwork that he's been pushing aside." Hope smiled and turned to leave, then turned back to add, "Don't skip over anything." She pointed at the book. "She knows every single line by heart." She laughed as she left the room.

……

"Hey Bo. I didn't think I'd see you here tonight." Roman walked into Bo's office and sat down in a chair.

"I have all this paperwork to do." Bo sat with pen in hand going over files. He loosened the tie around his neck and rolled up his sleeves.

"I thought you'd want to be home with your family after everything you all went through today." Roman sat back and rested his feet on the corner of Bo's desk.

"I'm trying to work here." Bo shoved Roman's feet off his desk. "I'd love to be home, but for now I know my family is safe at home. The sooner I get finished with these papers, the sooner I can join them."

"Did you hear about Higley?" Roman asked him.

"What about Higley?" Bo forgot Higley had his IA hearing today. "What happened at the hearing? Did you go?"

"I did. They weren't too happy you couldn't make it to the hearing. Higley is going to trial. If convicted, he could be giving the chair."

"Is he still in lock up?" Bo asked.

"Yeah. You're not thinking about beating him up again are you?" Roman asked.

"I just want to talk to him. See if I can get some information about Vito. Maybe give him a deal."

"Are you crazy? You can't offer him a deal." Roman was livid.

"Right now I want to find Vito. I have nothing to go on. Higley is connected to him. I think if we offer a life in prison deal over the death penalty, maybe he'll talk."

"Bo. He raped and murdered innocent girls. Girls the same age as Alicia and Chelsea. You really want to give him the chance to be in life imprisonment where he can get parole for good behavior?"

"I know what he did!" Bo slammed his fist into the desk and stood up. "I don't know what else to do to find this maniac that keeps attacking my daughter. He's attempted rape on her four times now! I want that bastard behind bars. No, I want him dead." Bo paced around the office biting on his lower lip. "Right now, Higley is the only connection I have to finding Vito. I don't want Higley getting off. Man, this is just so frustrating."

"We could always say we're thinking of offering him a deal if he cooperates, but never actually agree to it." Roman suggested.

"I thought of that. The thing is, can we get him to crack without following through and giving him the deal?" Bo didn't know if he should risk Higley for Vito. "Why don't you bring him up and we'll give it a shot."

Roman left to get Higley.

……

It was late at night. Two figures stood cloaked on the pier. "Stefano. She's back home." Vito reported to his boss.

"Because of your stupidity. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you taken out right now?" Stefano was outraged. "You tried to rape her. Damn you! I need her to be ready to follow my orders. You are weakening her spirit. You could have ruined everything!" Stefano grabbed Vito by the shirt collar. "Because you are the only one I trust to get the job done, I am sparing your life. But make no mistake my friend, anymore mistakes and it will be your last." Stefano shoved him off and walked away into the night.

……

"Higley, have a seat." Bo motioned for him to come in and sit.

"Should I be talking to you without my lawyer?" Higley asked him.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I just want to have a little chat with you about your good friend Vito." Bo sat back in his chair staring at Higley.

"I have nothing to say." Higley replied.

"You're going to death row. You have nothing to say? It wouldn't hurt to start talking now. You won't be able to say a thing once you're put to death. What difference does it make if you spill your guts to me now?" Bo got up and walked around to the front of his desk. Roman looked up to see what he was doing. Bo held a hand up to him to tell him to keep back; he wasn't going to attack Higley.

"Are you going to hit me again?" Higley cowered under Bo's stance.

"Hit you? Whatever gave you the idea that I'm a hitting kind of guy?" Bo smirked as he sat on the corner of his desk. "I'm just trying to have a nice chat with you."

Higley sat silently staring down at his feet, shifting a foot every now and then.

"What do you know about Vito and his connection to Stefano? Do you know where his hide out is?" Bo asked.

"No comment."

"No comment…What the? Just answer the question, man!" Bo was getting angry.

"If I tell you anything, I'm a dead man." Higley told him.

"The way I see it, either way you're a dead man. Why don't you try doing something right for a change? Who knows, it could mean the difference between heaven or hell."

"I want to make a deal." Higley told him.

"I don't recall mentioning any kind of deal to you." Bo told him. "Why don't you just tell me what I need to know and then I'll decide if it's worth a deal or not."

"I want protection." Higley told him.

"Protection?" Bo chuckled to himself. "From what?"

"I want witness protection to keep Stefano from getting to me. When I'm put to death, I want to die with dignity."

Bo got up from the desk and walked behind Higley. "Dignity?' He didn't want him to see the smile on his face or his shoulders shaking with laughter. He whispered to Roman, "We got him."

"I know where you can find Vito. I know where he hides out." Higley cracked. "You can find him in the old mills where he attacked your daughter. That's his hide out. Now I've given you information. I want protection."

"Sure man. Just as soon as you tell me how you and Vito are connected to Stefano. What does he have planned?"

"I don't know what he has planned." Higley shifted in his seat.

"You don't know? Now why don't I believe you?" Bo asked.

"I swear. I don't know anything about Stefano's plan. He contacted me to help Vito escape. I couldn't pass up the sum of money he offered. That's as far as my connection to him goes." Higley crossed his arms and leaned back. "I want protection."

"Protection. You're a dead man walking. What the hell can protection do for you?" Bo was furious. He wanted answers and so far he wasn't getting much. "You're telling me your only connection was to help Vito escape?"

"Yes."

"Then why the hell were you helping him blow up Doug's Place? You could've killed members of my family!" Bo was ready to punch him out again.

"Bo. Take it easy." Roman said.

"That was Vito who offered me the job. He paid almost as well as Stefano did." Higley said looking smug.

"So all of this was for money?" Bo asked him. His face was turning a nice shade of red as he held his temper intact.

"A cops salary doesn't pay much. And we just had that pay cut, so money was tight. I have bills to pay." Higley told him.

"And a need to rape girls." Bo muttered under his breath. "You deserve everything you get. Get him out of my sight." Bo stormed out of his office.

……

Vito lurked in the dark just outside Bo and Hope's house. He kept back to avoid the cops patrolling the area. He couldn't mess this up again. Stefano would have his hide if he did. A car passed by and Vito ducked behind a tree. "Bo Brady. Just what I need." Vito watched as Bo checked in with the cop on guard at their house and then go inside. He turned to leave. He wouldn't have a chance to get Alicia tonight. "Might as well go have some fun." He walked to his car and drove off.

……

Hope was in the kitchen doing dishes. Bo crept up behind her and grabbed her around the waste. "BRADY!" She jumped and turned to hit him. "Don't do that."

Bo was laughing. The expression on Hope's face was priceless. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." He said still laughing at the look on her face. "Come here and give me a kiss."

"No." She tried to pull away from him. Bo held onto her trying to kiss her lips, but she kept moving her face away teasingly. "You want a kiss after scaring me. No way Brady." She pushed against his chest trying to keep him off.

Bo started tickling her and she couldn't resist. She fell into his arms planting her lips on his. They lingered for a few moments, still laughing while they kissed. "How's Alicia doing tonight?" Bo asked her.

"She's fine. She's upstairs reading to Ciara. They looked so cute together sitting cuddled in Alicia's bed. Ciara is captivated by her sister. I went to check on them earlier and she was asking Alicia all these questions and she was so excited when Alicia agreed to read her favorite story to her." Hope smiled at the memory of her two girls.

"Let me guess, she had her read Dorothy." Bo laughed. "Well, as long as they're busy upstairs, what do you say we get busy right here?" He pulled Hope close to him and reached down to lift her chin up so he could kiss her again. His kisses became more demanding. He pushed her back up against the wall and continued kissing her. His mouth trailed down her neck to her shoulder blade. His hands were roaming all over her body.

Hope moaned as he met her lips again. "Bo. We should stop. The kids are right upstairs." Bo covered her mouth again with his continuing to kiss her. Hope couldn't resist the passion it evoked in her. "Brady, we can't do this here."

"Why not?" He leaned in to kiss her again. They slid to the floor tearing at each others clothes. Bo kicked his leg out and knocked over a chair. They both started laughing.

"Mom?" Alicia hollered from the upstairs hall. "Are you okay? I heard a noise."

"You had to ask why not, Brady." Hope pulled herself up from the floor and opened the kitchen door. "Everything's fine sweetie! I just knocked over a chair!" Hope came back into the kitchen. "Why can't we do it now, Brady?"

Bo laughed and rose from the floor. "If I hadn't knocked the chair over we would've managed just fine." He continued laughing. "Is she coming downstairs?"

"No. I think she went back to her room." Hope was saying as Bo pulled her back into his arms again kissing her once more. "Bo. Later tonight when they're both asleep."

"Can't I even kiss my wife?" He laughed.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

_It was morning at the Brady house. Chelsea had already left for her internship at the hospital, Hope was bringing Ciara to preschool, Alicia was asleep in her bed, and Bo was sitting drinking a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. "Shane Donovan. What brings you here so early?" _

"_Nice to see you too, Bo. I have some more footage from the disc that I thought you night like to see." Shane came in and brought a disc over to Bo's laptop. "May I?" He asked holding the disc up ready to put it in the disc drive._

"_Go right ahead. So what exactly have you found now?" He asked him._

"_I'm afraid you're not going to like this. By the way are we alone? Is Hope here? She might want to see this too." Shane looked around listening for any sounds._

"_Hope's brining Ciara to school. Alicia is sleeping upstairs. It's just you and I." Bo came over to the couch to view the disc._

"_So, you agreed to let her live here with your family even though she is potentially a dangerous person?" Shane asked him._

"_She's not a dangerous person. Look, Alicia told Hope and I all about what Stefano did to her. She went along with his teachings to keep from being punished. She isn't a killer. And more than that, she's my daughter. She's my and Hope's flesh and blood. There isn't an evil bone in her body." Bo was angry. He knew his daughter. She could never be what these clips on the disc made it look like she was._

"_Bo, I think you need to see what I found on the disc. You might change your mind about your daughter." Shane put the disc into the drive._

"_I don't care what you've found on this disc. I know my daughter!" Bo was irate now. He stood up and went to walk off but an image caught his eye on the computer screen. Alicia was doing target practice. Her target was a picture of Hope._

"_She left you. She abandoned you. She never loved you. Kill her!" Stefano was barking into Alicia's ear. Alicia pulled the trigger and fired off five rounds; all of them a direct hit. "Good. Ha hah hah." Stefano threw his head back and laughed. "My most prized pupil. I am so proud of you." He gently stroked the side of Alicia's face smiling at her. Alicia returned the smile. She looked happy. _

"_What the hell is this?" Bo asked looking stunned at what he was seeing on the disc. "This can't be true. She looks to pleased with herself. She told us she just went along with his plans to make him think she was cooperating." Bo was pacing the room. He didn't know what to think. Alicia was so kind and loving, but this girl wasn't the girl he knew. The Alicia he knew was fragile, not this monster he saw staring back at him on the computer screen. _

"_Dad? Are you okay?" Alicia had just entered the living room. "You seem upset. Did something happen?" She asked him. Her face was full of worry._

_Bo looked at her and started yelling. "Did you lie to me again? Are you trying to get close to us so you can finish the job Stefano sent you here to do?""What are you talking about?" Alicia's eyes started to tear up. She wondered what set her father off to think she was working for Stefano. "I don't work for Stefano. I already told you what he did to me. How could you still think I could work for that man?" Alicia was crying uncontrollably now._

_Bo wanted to reach out to her, but he wasn't sure what to believe anymore and he wanted some answers. "I just saw s video of you using pictures of your mother for target practice. You care to explain that!" Bo crossed his arms and held his ground._

"_I… I already did. I told you I had to go along with Stefano or he'd lock me away in the dungeon. Why don't you believe me anymore?" Tears were pouring down Alicia's cheeks. She didn't like the way her father was looking at her. "I could never hurt Mom if that's what you're thinking."_

"_I don't know what to think. I see what's on that damn disc and I hear what you're telling me, but you got to understand the visual of you looking so proud at what you accomplished for Stefano has really made my head spin. You say you were afraid to be locked up, that you went along with what he was teaching you, but how could you look so happy after firing rounds into your mothers face?"_

"_I would never hurt my mother!" Alicia screamed at him. "She's the only person that ever truly loved me. She was the only person that ever cared about me. Why would I want to hurt her? Stefano is evil. He hurt me. Do you honestly think I would choose to follow him over being with my family?" _

"_I want to believe you. I really do. I know what you've been through, but Alicia, a picture speaks a thousand words. Look at the video and tell me why I shouldn't believe what I'm seeing?" Bo pulled her over to watch the video. Alicia turned her head away._

"_I don't want to see it! I don't want to remember what he did to me!" She kept crying out to him. "Daddy, Please. I would never hurt Mom. I swear to you." She stared intently at his eyes pleading with him to believe her. "Daddy?"_

_Bo pulled his daughter into his embrace. He knew in his heart that she could never hurt Hope, He saw how much she loved her mother just from the little time they'd known her. Alicia clung to him sobbing. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I just don't know what to think when it concerns Stefano. I've seen what he can do to people." Bo held Alicia's face in his hands so he could talk to her face to face. "I'm sorry. It's just seeing you firing bullets at your mother's face made me angry. I know in my heart you could never hurt your mother." Bo held on to Alicia and hugged her tight._

"_I was picturing his face when I shot at it. I knew I had to cooperate with him. He's the one I was thinking about when I fired that gun; not mom." _

"_I hope the old man burns in hell for everything he's put this family through." _

……

"_Bo?" Hope called out as she walked in the front door._

"_In here!" Bo hollered from the kitchen._

"_Hey Brady." Hope walked over to her husband and kissed him. "You going in to work today?" She asked him. "I thought you'd be gone by now. What happened.?"_

"_Bo bit at his bottom lip. "Shane came by and showed me some more footage from the disc."_

"_Why don't I like the sound of this?" Hope reached around Bo's waist hugging him._

"_Your probably not going to like the sound of it. I didn't like what I saw on the disc and I confronted Alicia about it. Before you get upset with me, everything is settled now. I saw her firing rounds at you. Your picture to be exact. She looked happy with herself. I got mad. I didn't know what to think. I mean she's been telling us she had to play along so Stefano wouldn't hurt her and here I jumped to the conclusion that she could actually hurt you when I know in my heart she never could."_

"_How did she react?" Hope asked him._

"_She was upset as well she should be. I could see in her eyes how hurt she was by what I was asking her. I know how much she loves you."_

"_But you wanted to be sure she wasn't lying to us." Hope interrupted him._

"_Yeah. I mean everything Stefano has put this family through I have to wonder if what she's telling us is true or not. You were under his control and did things you would never normally do. I just thought maybe she might be too." _

"_Bo, think about it. If she were working for Stefano, she wouldn't be running away from him. She's afraid of him." Hope was reasoning with him._

"_I know. I do. You didn't see the video Hope. It caught me off guard. I appologizd to her after. I told her I believed her." Bo said._

"_Where is she?" Hope asked him._

"_She's upstairs resting." Bo answered._

"_I'm going to check on her. I want to drive into work with you. I think we should bring Alicia to Kayla's house. I don't want to leave her here alone. I know Steve and Kay wouldn't let anything happen to her. And I know Alicia trusts Kayla. Will you wait for me?" Hope kissed Bo and went up to check on Alicia._

_Alicia was resting on her bed when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in."_

"_Hi sweetie." Hope came over and sat down next to Alicia. "How are you feeling today?"_

"_Dad talked to you, didn't he?" Alicia could tell by the anxious look on her mother's face._

"_Yes he did. Are you okay?" She asked her again._

"_Yes. I just wish he knew me so he wouldn't keep second guessing everything I do. But then again, you don't really know me either. How come you always believe no matter what and he doesn't?" Alicia asked her mother._

"_Your dad believes you. He's just had to deal with me being under Stefano's influence and he wonders sometimes if you're not.""I'm not. I already told you both why I did what Stefano asked me to do. But Mom, I would never willingly do anything to hurt you." Hope placed a finger on Alicia's lips silencing her._

"_I know you would never hurt me. And I know why you went along with what Stefano made you do. You need to see your father's side in this. I did some very hurtful things to him and the family and our friends because of what Stefano did to me. Your dad is just concerned about you. He wants to make sure you weren't brainwashed in any way or had a chip implanted in you that could change the Alicia we know to the one on that disc." Hope tried explaining to her._

"_He never brainwashed me." Alicia told her mother._

"_How do you know that he never brainwashed you?" Hope's curiosity was piqued._

"_I was born with a photographic memory. I would know if he ever tried to brainwash me. I remember everything form my life." Alicia looked down at her hands twisting the top of the sheet in them. "Sometimes I wish I could forget, but the memories are always there both good and bad."_

"_So that's how you remember so much about me. You were just a child when I left." Hope brushed the hair out of Alicia's eyes. _

"_I remember everything about our time together." Alicia reached down to the locket that hung from her neck and twirled it around on the chain._

"_Is that the locket I gave you when you were little?" Hope asked her pointing at the locket._

"_Yeah. I've always kept it with me. You said as long as you were in my heart and I was in yours, we'd never truly be apart." Alicia smiled at her mother. "I know you didn't remember me because of what Stefano did to you, but I think you still carried me in your heart. I always felt you near whenever I looked inside the locket and saw you smiling back at me."_

_Hope reached out and hugged Alicia. "I wish I had remembered you sooner. You wouldn't have had to spend your entire childhood with a mad man. Your dad and I would have stopped at nothing to find you and bring you home."_

"_I'm just glad I'm here now." Alicia sat back and looked at her mother. "My childhood wasn't entirely with Stefano. I had you and the memories of you were forever in my heart. So in a way, you were with me the whole time I was growing up."_

"_Hope you coming?" Bo hollered from downstairs._

"_Where are you going?" Alicia asked her. She looked worried her mother and father were going to leave her alone._

_Hope noticed the look on her face. "I have to go to the office for a little while. Would you like to stay with your Aunt Kayla while I'm gone?"_

_Alicia hugged her mother close. "I'm sorry I'm being such a baby." She told her._

"_You're not. You have every right to feel apprehensive after everything you've been through." Hope held her face in her hands. "I won't be gone long. I think afterwards we should go to lunch and maybe do a little shopping. This room of yours could use a makeover. It still has that guest room feeling and I want you to feel like it's yours. I could get your dad to paint it whatever color you want.""Even pink?" Alicia beamed._

_Hope laughed. "Even pink." She winked her eye at her. "Let's get moving before your dad leaves without us."_

……

"_Bo, Hope. I'm glad you're both here." Abe said walking into Bo's office. "I heard from Celeste. She wanted me to tell you she's sorry she kept your daughter from you, but she was under the impression that Alicia was dead and didn't want to bring her up since Hope had no memory of her. She thought it was best to keep you from having to grieve for a child you didn't even know about."_

"_That makes no sense at all. Why wouldn't she tell us about our child? We had every right to know we had a daughter out there." Bo got up from his desk and went to close the door. "I could have searched for her. I know what Stefano is capable of doing. I wouldn't have stopped looking for my daughter or believed she was dead without a body to prove it. She kept us for our daughter and that is something I will never forgive her for.""Bo. She believed Alicia was dead." Abe tried to calm him down._

"_How exactly did she say she died?" Bo asked him._

"_She said she was killed in a fire shortly after Hope resurfaced."_

"_How convenient." Bo was livid. "She was the one who started that fire if my memory serves me correct."_

"_Bo. You yourself know Celeste came to Salem around that same time."_

"_She was still working for Stefano then." Bo's anger only grew. "She should have told us. Even if Alicia was dead, we had every right to know."_

"_Bo. We have our daughter back now. There's nothing we can do to change the past." Hope slid her hands up the front of his chest and leaned her face against his back._

"_She felt guilty, because she believed Alicia died in the fire she herself started. That's the real reason she didn't want us knowing about our daughter. She'd have too much explaining to do, not to mention a little jail time for manslaughter. This had nothing to do with not wanting you to have to grieve over a child you barely knew or even remembered." Bo pulled Hope's hands off of him and walked out of the office slamming the door behind him._

"_Hope. I don't know what to say." Abe looked at her sorrowfully. _

"_Abe. It's okay. Bo needs some time to think. It's been a rough day for him. I don't hold Celeste's actions against you. She has a lot more explaining to do as far as I'm concerned." Hope and Abe talked for awhile longer before he left to go home. "Brady, I hope you're not doing anything stupid."_

……

_Bo was rounding a curve in the road when he noticed Vito duck into the abandoned mills. "Guess Higley was telling me the truth after all. What are you planning Stefano?" Bo pulled over to the side of the road and got out of his car. He crept up to the mills and drew his gun before entering. Bo crept inside looking all around his surroundings for any sign of movement. He walked along the wall his gun out in front of him. Vito was sitting in the corner of the room looking over some papers. He never heard Bo creeping up on him._

"_Freeze Vito! Put your hands up where I can see them." Bo walked over to Vito and pushed him against the wall slapping cuffs on him in the process. "You have the right to remain silent…." Bo read him his rights and walked him out to his car. He shoved him into the backseat and drove off._

……

"_Bo I was worried you weren't coming back." Hope went to him the moment he stepped into his office. "Where did you go?"_

"_I went for a drive. Good thing too." Bo told her._

"_Why?" Hope's eyebrow arched on one side. "What happened?"_

"_I ran into Vito. He's being booked right now." Bo was grinning from ear to ear like a little kid on Christmas morning. _

"_You arrested Vito?" Hope couldn't believe she heard him correctly._

"_Yup. That bastard is going to fry right alongside Higley."_

"_Did you give him the Brady justice before bringing him in here." Hope asked hesitantly._

"_No Hope. I kept my cool even though every cell in my body wanted me to bash his face in for hurting Alicia. The last thing I want is for him to get off on a technicality of police brutality."_

"_I can't wait to tell her the good news." She kissed Bo and walked to the door before turning around. "By the way, Brady, you have some painting to do when you get home. Hope you're up for it." She winked closing the door behind her._

"_Painting? What on earth is she talking about?" Bo nodded his head and went to work._

……

_Hope knocked on Kayla's door. "Hey Hope." Kayla greeted her. "Are you here to pick up Alicia?" She asked her._

"_Well that and I wanted to invite you to have lunch with us. So what do you say to a girls day out?" Hope asked her as she walked into the apartment._

"_I would love to go to lunch with you. But I can't. Joe isn't feeling well. I think he's breaking a tooth in and I just don't want to leave him." Kayla told her. "Raincheck?"_

"_Definitely. Where's Alicia?" She asked Kayla when she didn't see her daughter. _

"_Stephanie dropped by with Chelsea a little while ago and they took Alicia with them to Salem Place. Alicia mentioned you were going there with her later and thought you could just meet them there." Kayla said. "I hope it's alright she left with them. I know how worried you are about her. I just thought she could use some fresh air and time with people her own age."_

"_Of course it's fine. I actually have some good news. Bo just arrested Vito. So I can rest a little easier knowing Alicia is safe for the moment." _

"_That's great. You must be so relieved. Poor thing has been through so much these past few weeks. Listen why don't you stay for a cup of coffee before you go meet up with the girls. I'm sure they're fine on their own." Kayla dragged Hope over to the couch and poured her some coffee. "So did my brother do anything to him?" She looked over the rim of her cup at Hope._

"_Funny you should ask that. I asked him the same thing when he came back to the office." Hope laughed. "He doesn't want anything to go wrong with this arrest. He's playing it completely by the book this time."_

_Kayla and Hope chatted for awhile before Hope left to join her daughter at Salem Place. Alicia was shivering in her thin red jacket. Hope remembered Alicia had come to them with only the clothes on her back. She could only go on borrowing clothes for so long. Hope decided to make it an all around shopping spree for the two of them. She felt like celebrating. "Hi sweetie, Steph, Chels. Have you been having fun?" She asked them._

"_We've been showing Alicia the sites." Chelsea told her. "I hope you don't mind us taking her out with Vito on the loose and everything? We've been really careful."_

"_Well, Vito has been arrested.""He has?" Alicia jumped at the news. "Really?"_

"_Yes. Your dad arrested him just a little while ago. You don't have to worry about him anymore." Hope lovingly touched Alicia's face. "Are you girls done showing her the sites? I thought maybe we could do some shopping."_

"_I have to get to work. Sorry Aunt Hope. Maybe some other time." Stephanie said her goodbyes and left._

"_I actually need to get back to the hospital as well." Chelsea told her._

"_Okay, really guys am I that old that you don't want to be seen shopping with me?" Hope jokingly asked._

"_No. Of course not. I would love to stay and shop with you, but I really need to get back. I've been gone longer than I should've." Chelsea hugged Hope and Alicia and left._

"_Is it really safe for me to go out in public without looking over my shoulder?" Alicia asked her mother._

"_I think so. I don't think Stefano will try anything right now. We have two of his men in lockup. He'll be keeping his distance from you for the time being." Hope took Alicia's hand in hers. "So are you ready to do some shopping? I think we should go clothes shopping first. You need a whole warddrobe."_

"_Mom, that's too much money. You can't do that." Alicia told her._

"_I have some money saved up that I was keeping for a rainy day. And although it isn't raining, I would love nothing more than to spoil my daughter just a little." Hope and Alicia walked through the mall stopping in many boutiques buying out half of them. They had lunch got their nails and hair done and shopped some more. The two of them were sitting at Java Café with bags surrounding their feet when Julie and Melissa caught up with them._

"_Hello ladies." Julie was the first to speak. "Taking in a little shopping I see."_

_Hope laughed knowing her sister all to well. "We were just heading home to decorate Alicia's room. Want to help?"_

"_We'd love to. Wouldn't we Julie?" Melissa turned to Julie who nodded her head in agreement._

"_Great the more the merrier." Hope rose form her seat and began gathering her belongings. "I think we better get home before your father does so he doesn't see exactly how much we bought." She said looking at all the bags in her hands. They all laughed and made their way back to Hope's house._

_**……**_

"_Hope?" Bo called out as he came up the stairs. "What's going on here? Are we having a party and you didn't tell me?" Bo walked into Alicia's room which was empty of all it's furnishings. "What's going on?" He looked around the room to see Julie, Doug, Melissa, Hope, Alicia, Maggie and his mother all there._

"_Grab a brush and start painting." Hope threw a paintbrush his way. "We're having a decorating party." Hope winked at him._

"_So this is what you were talking about when you said I would be painting when I got home. Mind if I get out of this suit first?" Bo was pointing out the door getting ready to leave the room._

"_Hurry back. We'll be saving a wall for you." Hope laughed._

"_A wall? There are …" Bo motioned with his finger to count the people in the room, "seven people here and I have an entire wall to myself? Why am I the odd man out?"_

"_Because we love you." Hope went over and kissed Bo trying to avoid getting any paint on him. "Besides, we moved all the furniture so it only seems fitting you should have a wall to yourself." Hope smiled at him. _

_Bo kissed her again. "Can't argue with that. But tell me who's moving all the furniture back in here?" He asked her._

"_Well, I thought since you have all these strong muscles that you could do it." Hope looked at him seductively._

"_Cute. I think I might need a little incentive." Bo licked his lips._

"_How's this for incentive?" Hope pulled Bo into a passionate kiss that lingered on for a few moments. "There may be more where that came from after the job is finished."_

"_Works for me." Bo turned on his heel and left to go change with a broad smile across his face._

_Hope went back to painting with a devilish grin on her face. _

"_After all these years, Hope can still get Bo to do almost anything with just a seductive look." Julie laughed._

"_Julie!" Hope's face crimsoned._

"_Come on Hope, you know she's right." Melissa chimed in._

"_You guys, stop ganging up on me. I thought you were all on my side?" Hope laughed pointing at each member of her family. Alicia looked on and smiled at the scene. She was happy to be part of this family. "Okay, everyone back to work." Hope ordered._

"_Yes ma'am." Everyone responded saluting her._

_The room was finished being painted and the family was in the living room enjoying some take out. "Is it always this much fun to decorate a room?" Alicia asked._

"_Whenever there is more than one Horton or one Brady involved in any event, it's always going to turn out to be a lively affair." Julie told her as everyone laughed agreeing with her. _


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

_Bo was sitting at his desk when Shane entered his office. He was grinning at him. "You'll never believe this, but I think we have enough here to lock Stefano away for good." He handed Bo a file on Stefano._

"_You're kidding me?" Bo took the file and went over it. After he read every page he grinned too. "We've got him. Is the ISA taking care of his arrest, or do I have the honors?" Bo asked him._

"_I think the first thing we need to do is find him." Shane told him. "Seems the phoenix has skipped town on us.""Oh man. I knew once I had Vito behind bars he'd do something. When are we ever going to catch a break?" Bo asked but really didn't need an answer._

"_At least this time once he's found he'll be paying for all his past crimes." Shane reasoned._

"_Yeah. If he's found." Bo scanned the file again to see if maybe there was some hideout he had that maybe he and Shane had overlooked._

"_Do you think Junior might know about his whereabouts?" Bo asked. "I think I should pay him a little visit. For once I'd like to see justice served against Dimera."_

"_We've already questioned EJ and didn't get anything from him." Shane told him. "I think the most likely spot for Stefano to be hiding out would be the most obvious. He would go somewhere we wouldn't suspect. Which is why I'm thinking he's at Maison Blanche."_

"_You might be on to something there governor." Bo thought it just might be possible Stefano would go back to the place it started. He hadn't thought about it because it was too obvious. "I want to leave tonight to go check it out. You game?" Bo asked him._

"_I am if you are. I think we should give Steve a call too. He might come in handy."_

……

_Alicia was sitting on her bed in her freshly decorated bedroom. She looked around the room at all her things and smiled to herself. This was the first time she had a room of her own designed to her liking. Her mother had done more than just spoil her a little. She had a whole new wardrobe plus jewelry and makeup. The hairs on Alicia's arm stood up. She suddenly had the feeling someone was watching her. She looked around the room and towards her window. Was that a shadow she saw standing under the street light. She couldn't be sure. She felt pure evil staring at her. She shuddered at the thought of who it might be. Only one name sprang to mind. Stefano. Alicia ran downstairs to her mother. _

_Hope sat at the kitchen table cutting vegetables for a salad when Alicia raced into the room out of breath. "Alicia what's wrong?" Hope's instincts aroused. She knew something was up. "Sweetie?" She put down her knife and went over to Alicia. "What is it?" Alicia's face was pale. _

"_I saw him outside." Alicia said in between gasps of air. Her heart was racing._

"_Who?" Hope asked._

"_Stefano. I could feel him watching me." Alicia's eyes were large with fear. "Where's Dad?" Alicia asked her. _

"_He's at work. Are you sure it was Stefano you saw?" Hope asked her._

"_Yes! I know it was him. Can you call Dad? I want him to come home." Alicia was petrified of what Stefano might do to them. They were all alone in the house unprotected. Her father removed the guard after Vito was imprisoned. "Mom?" Alicia looked at her mother pleading with her eyes._

"_I'll call your father. I just want to make sure everything is locked up first." Hope went to lock the back door and then went into the living room. The front door was wide open. Hope backed into the kitchen. "Alicia take my cell." She handed her phone to Alicia. "Call your father and tell him to get home immediately. He's on speed dial. Just say his name into the phone." Hope picked up the knife she had been cutting the vegetables with and went back out into the living room. _

_Alicia freaked. She knew something was wrong. She called her father keeping an ear glued to the door incase her mother was in danger and needed her. "DAD!" She screamed into the phone when he picked up. "Come home quick. We need you!" Alicia cried._

"_Alicia? What's wrong? Why are you calling on your mother's cell?" Bo was frantic when he heard the worry in his daughter's voice. "Alicia?"_

"_Dad, he's here. You have to come home quick!" Alicia was crying in the phone now._

"_Who?"_

"_Stefano!" Alicia cried._

"_I'm on my way! Stay calm. I'll be there in a few minutes. Has he hurt you or your mother?" Bo asked fearful of the answer._

"_NO. I don't think so. Mom went to go find him. She has a knife." Alicia told her father._

"_I'm on my way. Alicia I want you to find a hiding spot and stay there no matter what you hear. Understand me? Don't come out for anything. Your mom is a trained officer. She can handle herself." Bo hung up with Alicia and raced to get home. He pulled into their driveway several minutes later. He had back up on the way, but wanted to get in to his family now. The front door still stood wide open. Bo walked in cautiously with his gun aimed in front of him. The whole house was in darkness. He couldn't see much. Bo searched the entire house looking for signs of Hope, Alicia, and Stefano. The house had an earily dead calm to it. "Hope?" Bo called out into the stillness. "Alicia?" No one answered back._

"_BO? Where are you?" Roman called out to his little brother._

"_Up here Roman." Bo came down the stairs to find his brother._

"_I just got the call from the station. What's going on?" He asked him._

"_Hope and Alicia are missing and I think Stefano is behind it." Bo slammed his fist into a wall. "Damn that bastard!"_

……

_Hope walked cautiously into the living room holding the knife out in front of her. She searched the room looking all around her and went to the front door to see if anyone was there. She felt the hand close around her mouth before she realized Stefano was behind her. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use. She made a stab at Stefano with the knife when she felt a stinging sensation in the side of her neck. He held a syringe in his hand showing her as the room started to fade from her sight. Hope's legs slipped out from under her. She felt Stefano lift her and carry her out to his car. She tried to scream out to Alicia to warn her, but no sound came from her mouth. Hope's head bobbed down to her chest as Stefano sat her on the seat. He closed the door and Hope fell into unconsciousness._

_Alicia hung up with her father and peered into the living room to find her mother. Her mother wasn't in sight. She figured she went upstairs to check for Stefano. The house went dark. Alicia stopped in her tracks. Where could she hide? She remembered the shed and quickly unlocked the back door. She yanked it open looking back behind her to see if anyone was coming and walked straight into Stefano's awaiting arms. "NO!" She screamed as he plunged a syringe into her neck. She felt everything fading away as he carried her to his car and sat her in the backseat with her mother. Alicia saw her mother sitting slumped over and feared he had killed her. It was only a few minutes before she too fell into unconsciousness._

_Stefano sped off just moments before Bo arrived. "Looks like I have the last laugh Bo Brady!" He threw his head back and laughed. "Hope you ladies are comfortable. You're in for a long ride."_

……

_Bo searched the house for clues. He found the knife Hope must have been using on the ground by the couch. "Doesn't seem like she put up too much of a struggle. He must have surprised her." He told Roman. "I'm going to check outside to see if I can come up with anything." Bo went to check when one of the officers came in carrying two syringes. _

"_I found these out back on the ground." He told Bo._

"_Damn! They've been drugged." Bo knew he wouldn't have much to go on. Hope must have been drugged before she could leave him any clues. "Get that down to be analyzed right away. I want to know what he gave them."_

"_Bo, what's going on? What are all the cruisers doing here?" Kayla walked in the front door with Ciara._

"_Daddy!" Ciara ran into her fathers arms._

"_Hey sugar bear. Give Daddy a hug." He picked up his little girl holding her tight._

"_Where's Mommy?" She asked him._

"_She's not here right now." He turned to his sister. "I thought Ma was keeping her."_

"_She was. Steve and I were at the pub and she asked if we could bring Ciara home for her. Bo is everything alright?"_

_Bo held Ciara close so she couldn't hear. "Hope and Alicia are missing. Stefano drugged and kidnapped them. Would you mind taking Ciara home with you tonight?" He asked her._

"_Of course I don't mind. Is there anything else I can do to help?" Kayla asked him._

"_Lend me your husband for a few days. I think I have an idea where he might have taken them. Ciara may need to spend a few days with you if that's alright." Bo kissed Ciara's head._

"_Steve is out in the car with Joe. I'll go pack a few things for Ciara and then I'll send Steve in to you." Kayla went to pack Ciara's clothes._

"_Daddy when's Mommy coming home?" Ciara asked him. She knew something was wrong. She was very instinctive to her surroundings for such a young age._

"_Soon baby. I promise." Bo held her tight in his arms not wanting to let her go. "Listen, Daddy has to go away for a few days to find Mommy. I need you to be a big girl for me and not be afraid. Can you do that?" Ciara nodded her head yes. "Good. Aunt Kayla is going to take you home with her while I'm gone. You be good for her okay?" Ciara nodded yes again and reached around her father's neck to hug him tight._

"_I love you Daddy." She whispered in his ears. _

"_I love you too, Ciara." Bo kissed her on the cheek and set her down. Kayla was just coming down the stairs. She reached for Ciara's hand and they walked out the door. Ciara looked back at her father._

"_Are you coming back?" She asked looking up at her father with worried eyes. Bo's heart sank. He went to her and pulled her in his embrace._

"_There's nothing in this world that would ever keep me away from you. I'll be back. I promise." He kissed her again. "Now run along with Aunt Kayla." Ciara waved bye as she climbed into the backseat of the car._

"_Hey man. What's going on?" Steve asked him._

"_Dimera kidnapped my wife and daughter." _

……

_Bo, Steve and Shane stood immersed in papers and maps. "We need a plan." Bo was telling them. _

"_Where do you think we should start looking?" Steve asked him. "You've got road blocks up all over, men stationed at the airport, and around Dimera's mansion. Is there anything we haven't thought of which might give us some clue to where Steffie might have taken Hope and Alicia?"_

"_Shane seems to think we should be looking in the most obvious of places. If Stefano thinks it's a place we would look for him, he won't hide there, but he might also think that we wouldn't look there because he knows we know he wouldn't so therefore he would."_

"_Mind repeating that in English I can understand. You're running around in circles over here." Steve smirked at him. "So what you're saying is Stefano might be hiding out in the place he thinks we won't look because it's too obvious for him to be hiding there."_

"_That's what I said man." Bo looked perplexed. "I think he took them to where it all started; Maison Blanche."_

"_So when do we leave?" Steve asked him._

"_Glad to hear you're on board man." Bo told him._

"_You know I've always got your back." Steve slapped him on the shoulder. "What's with you Shane? You seem awfully quiet."_

"_What if we're wrong?" Shane pondered trying to make sense of the clues or rather lack of clues. "Maybe Stefano is hiding out right here in Salem. I don't think we should be jumping the gun and running off in the wrong direction. Stefano is a smart man. He plans everything down to the tiniest of detail. I wouldn't put it past him to send us on a wild goose chase." _

"_Man I just wish we had a clue to go on.__**" **__Bo paced around the living room. He knew Hope would have left clues if she could've. He couldn't stand to be apart from her for more than a few hours. He could feel her tension in his heart. They always had a close connection that went beyond reason. Each knew exactly what the other was feeling. "Fancy Face I'll find you. I swear." He held a photo of the two of them in his hand. They looked so happy._

"_Hey man. We'll find her." Steve hung his arm around Bo's shoulders. "We won't stop until we do."_

……

_Hope looked around the dimly lit room. Her head was pounding. She didn't know where she was or how long she had been there. She sat up and immediately regretted doing so. Her head throbbed. "What happened?" She tried to think back as she lay her head on the pillows. Her throat was dry and she desperately longed for some water. She opened her eyes again to try and put a grasp on the situation. The room was pretty bare of furnishings beside the bed she was lying on. There was no window and only one door to the room. How did she get here? Stefano! Alicia! Hope tried to get up again. She struggled to keep her balance as she walked to the door. She tried the door handle, but it was locked. She banged on the door. "Stefano! Let me out of here!" She screamed at the door as she continued pounding._

_Someone placed a key in the door and opened it. He stopped Hope from running out. She was still to weak to battle him off. "Hello Hope." Stefano pushed Hope back into the room closing and locking the door behind him._

"_What do you want with me?" Hope asked him. _

"_I want you to relax and make yourself at home. If you behave, I might even let you see your daughter." _

_Hope's face paled. He had Alicia here too? "What have you done to Alicia?" Hope screamed at him._

"_I haven't done anything to either one of you. I don't know why you always accuse me of such deplorable acts. Alicia is resting comfortably in her room. Now then, I know you must be tired. You should get some rest. I'll send in a servant with something for you to eat. You must be famished." Stefano turned around to leave. "Hope. Be advised not to try anything. I'll be watching you."_

_Hope shuddered thinking about it. She glanced around the room searching for video cameras. After everything she saw on the disc Shane managed to crack, she knew Stefano must have every room wired for his personal viewing pleasure. I hope Alicia is alright. She must be so frightened._

_**.…..**_

_Alicia lay curled up on the bed. She knew she was back in Stefano's possession. She looked around the room to see if she could find anything to use to her advantage. For once she was glad for everything Stefano taught her. She could use it against him. Poetic justice. Alicia heard the key in the door and the click as it opened. She closed her eyes pretending to be asleep._

_Stefano came in and chuckled to himself. "It's good to have you back my little Alicia. I can't tell you how happy I am." He walked over to her bed. "I know you're really not sleeping. I know you to well. It's funny how you think you can fool me. After all these years you still haven't learned I know everything." He nudged Alicia. "Wake up!"_

_Alicia opened her eyes and looked up at Stefano. "What do you want with me?"_

"_Funny, that's exactly what your mother asked me. How alike the two of you are. I never saw it before now, but you resemble your mother a great deal. Too bad you have your father's eyes." Stefano sat on the edge of her bed._

_Alicia's heart leapt with joy at the news of her mother. She wasn't dead. She remembered seeing her slumped over in the car before she lost consciousness. She eyed Stefano curiously. She wondered if he thought she would become the good little student and go back to following his orders. She had her family now. She knew her father would be out looking for her and her mother. He couldn't hold it over her head anymore._

"_I see the wheels turning in your head. You think I don't know you, but I know you better than you know yourself. Your thinking your dear daddy, Bo Brady, will be coming to your rescue. He can try, but he will never find you." Stefano rose from her bed. "Rest now Alicia, there is much for you to do tomorrow." Stefano left then, leaving Alicia alone to ponder his words._

"_My father will find me. You're wrong Stefano. I have a family now. Everyone knows about me. Do you hear me! He will find me!" She yelled out knowing full well he was watching her from afar."_

……

"_Morning Officer Reynolds. What do you have for me?" Bo opened his front door to find Reynolds standing on his front step. _

"_We found Mr. Dimera's car abandoned on the side of the road about 20 miles east of here. Their's a private airfield nearby to where we found his car. We're looking in to any flight plans that may have been filed yesterday." Reynolds filled him in. _

"_Good work Reynolds. With any luck we'll nail the bastard tonight." Bo thanked the officer and showed him to the door. "Let me know as soon as you have anymore information._

"_Hey Dad, can I get you anything?" Chelsea asked. She had been in the kitchen washing the breakfast dishes._

"_Thanks kid. I could use some coffee. I've been up all night trying to find some clues." Bo walked over to the couch and sat down going over the same papers he, Steve and Shane were perusing the night before. "There must be something in here we overlooked." _

_Chelsea came back in with the coffee and brought it over to her father. Just then the doorbell rang. "I'll get it. I'm heading out anyway. I want to stop by Aunt Kayla's to check on Ciara.""Thanks kid. Give her a big hug for me." Bo said as he sat shuffling through the papers._

"_I will." Chelsea opened the front door. "Hey Uncle Steve. Dad's over there. I have to go." She said as she passed by her uncle._

"_Hey Bo Bo. Any news?" Steve asked coming in and nonchalantly sitting down on the couch by Bo._

"_We might have a lead. Stefano's car was found abandoned on the highway heading east. There's a small airfield near there called Littlefield's. My guts telling me it's a decoy though. I think Shane might be right. He's probably hiding them right here in Salem. Here's phase one of the goose chase. I'll have to check it out just the same, but I can't shake the feeling Hope's nearby." Bo pointed to the stack of papers in front of him. "I've been going over all the evidence Shane pulled off the disc to see if maybe there's something I've missed. I could use an extra eye."_

_Bo and Steve perused through the files looking for anything that might seem even remotely like a clue. After several hours, Steve was becoming irritable. "Man this is hopeless. There's nothing in these papers to tell us where Dimera might have taken Hope and Alicia. I say we go smack it out of Junior." Steve got up stretching his legs. "You coming or should I have all the fun." He smirked at Bo._

"_I just wish I could find a clue to help lead me to Hope." Bo stood up and went to grab his jacket. "I think EJ is a long shot. Shane and the ISA already questioned him.""They have to play by the rules. I don't." Steve said smiling. "I'll get it out of him._

_Just then Bo's cell rang. "Commissioner Brady here."_

"_Bo, it's Shane. I think I have a lead on Stefano."_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Shane met Bo at his house. He didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation. "Look Bo, I know we've been trying to come up with some kind of clue to find where Stefano has stashed your wife and daughter. I think I might know where that is.""Tell me." Bo was impatiently waiting to hear what Shane had to say.

"You told me when Alicia first came here she had been running from Stefano's men. She was held somewhere near here?" Shane asked.

"Yeah. I believe it's where…" A light bulb went on in Bo's head. "Vito was taking her to Stefano when he kidnapped her from here. They were headed long I-80. The same highway we found Stefano's abandoned car. He wasn't taking them to the airport."

"No. Stefano has a place not far from there. It's quite remote a place too. I believe it's where he has Hope and Alicia." Shane glanced over at Steve who was sitting quietly listening to the conversation. "What's your theory on this Steve?"

"I think you might be right. We already figured finding his car near Littlefield's was probably a decoy to make us think he flew them out of here. He had to have had someone waiting for them. Someone must have seen something." Steve said.

"I agree. I'm going to send a few men to check it out. See if anyone saw anything. I think we need to come up with a plan to get into Stefano's place and get my family out." Bo walked over to the mantle and picked up his wedding photo. "Hang on Fancy Face. It won't be too long now."

"I'm already ahead of you on the plan. There's a back way into Dimera's which isn't used much. It's old and run down, but it will serve our purpose of a sneak attack. I've been going over some blueprints of the house I found on the disc. Seems it's typical Dimera style. There are tunnels leading in and out of the house. There's even a dungeon." Shane was rattling on about the details of the house and surrounding property.

Bo stopped listening after he mentioned the dungeons. Alicia mentioned she was kept in a dungeon on the island where Stefano held her captive. He couldn't help but think how scared she must be now. He made a promise to her he'd always be there for her. He'd protect her from the bad guys. He wished he had been able to keep her safe. Why had he taken away the guards? He should've known Stefano would get even with him for locking up two of his men. There was no point in beating himself up over what he should've done. He had to think about what he was going to do now to get Hope and Alicia back home where they belonged.

……

Alicia tossed and turned all night. She wanted to see her mother. Even though she knew she was still alive, she just needed to see her. Alicia looked at the surrounding walls remembering the last time she was there. She had been moved to several different locations in her life. She was born at Maison Blanche and lived there until shortly after her mother disappeared. Then Stefano moved her to the island. She grew into a teenager before he moved her again. Stefano was in and out during that time. She knew he was up to something then, but didn't know what. She knew now he had been spending time in Salem and other places when he wasn't her prison warden. About nine years ago he disappeared for several months. It was the longest he had ever left her without checking in. She had no way of escaping the island and was too young at the time to really do anything about an escape. She bided her time learning everything she could from her surroundings and her teachings. She was a sponge for life and learning. Alicia thought she would spend the rest of her days on the island training to be Stefano's weapon. Then one day, he moved her again. She lived at Dimera manor for two years before the opportunity to escape arose. ……

……Vito was leering at her in that sick way of his; like he was undressing her with his eyes. She kept moving around crossing her arms over her breasts feeling naked under his gaze. There was this look in his eye that scared her. "Stop looking at me." She told him after it got to be to much.

"I can't help it." He said twirling strands of her hair in his fingers. "You've turned into such a voluptuous young lady. I'd like to do more than just look at you." His breath was hot on her face. "Get off me!" Alicia pushed him and scurried to the other side of the room.

"You like it. I know you do. I see the way you walk; the way you sway your hips when you pass by me. I know you want more too." Vito grabbed her arms and placed them above her head pinning her against the wall.

"Stop it!" Alicia struggled against him. "Leave me alone!"

"What's going on in here?" Vanessa, one of Stefano's servants, entered the room carrying a tray of food for Alicia. "Vito you know Stefano doesn't want you here with her." She reprimanded him.

"Mind your own business. Just leave the tray and go back to cleaning the house. That's your job, not reporting my whereabouts to Stefano." Vito glared at her.

"I know what my job is. And I know you're not supposed to be in here with her." She pointed at Alicia. "I'm not leaving here until you do."

Vito lunged at the servant causing her to cry out as she cowered under his attack. Alicia saw her moment and raced out of the room down the long hall. She knew of a door at the end of the hall which led to the dungeons. She ran down the stairs looking over her shoulder to see if Vito was behind her. When she saw he wasn't, she ducked into one of the many underground tunnels and raced down it until she came to a door. Alicia couldn't believe how easy it was to pull it open and get away from Stefano and his men. She ran until her breath was gone from her body before collapsing on the ground panting wildly. She was hidden by the trees and the night. She knew Stefano wouldn't stop until he found her again. As soon as her breath returned, she rose and raced off again coming to a highway. She kept her distance from the road but followed the path of it keeping her guard up looking for signs of Stefano's men. Several cars passed by illuminating a sign which read: Salem four miles. Alicia couldn't believe her luck. "Salem? Mom said she was from Salem. My family is there." …..

….. Alicia turned on her side remembering that first night she spent in Salem looking for her family. She came across the Brady Pub soon after crawling into town. She wondered if it was family owned and if the family was related to her. She walked up to the door and read the closed sign. "Guess it will have to wait until morning. Alicia walked away and down to the pier. She found a cozy spot behind some cargo and huddled up falling fast asleep. ……

Alicia rose from her bed and went to the door trying the handle. It was locked. She didn't know why she should expect anything less. She let go of the handle and watched as it turned and the door opened.

"Good morning, Alicia. I have your breakfast." Vanessa locked the door behind her and carried the tray over to a side table. "Can I get you anything?" She asked before turning to leave the room.

Alicia though quickly before responding. "Have you seen my mother?"

Vanessa turned to face her eyeing her suspiciously. "I just brought her a tray of food."

"Is she alright?" Alicia asked her.

Vanessa could see the worry in her chocolate brown eyes. "As far as I could tell, she's doing just fine."

Alicia looked down at the floor and then back up at Vanessa. She had always been nice to her and she knew after her escape, Vanessa must have taken some of the heat from it. "Can you do something for me?" Alicia asked her earnestly. "Can you take a note to my mother from me?"

"I'm sorry. I can't help you." Vanessa told her.

"Please. I just need her to know I'm okay. Can you at least tell her for me?" Alicia pleaded. Vanessa nodded before leaving the room securely locking it in her wake.

……

Hope was sitting on the edge of the bed, a food tray sat on the bed beside her. She couldn't eat anything without knowing how Alicia was. She was worried about her being back here with Stefano. Alicia looked so petrified the night before when she told Hope Stefano was watching from outside. She wanted to hold her in her arms and comfort her. She knew Alicia must be frightened being here again. Hope looked up to see the door to her room opening.

Vanessa poked her head in. "You didn't eat anything?" She asked her. "You should really try to eat a little. It's not good for you or your daughter."

"Alicia? Have you seen her?" Hope asked anxiously pleading with her eyes. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, just worried about you. She wanted me to tell you she's okay. Now will you please eat something or Mr. Dimera will be upset." Vanessa told her.

"I don't care if I upset Stefano. I'm not hungry. Just take the tray away please." Hope pushed the tray away from her. "Is Stefano here?" She asked. She wanted to see her daughter.

"Mr. Dimera left to take care of some business. He won't be back until later this afternoon." Vanessa told her.

"Will you take me to see my daughter?" Hope asked her.

"I can't ma'am. I'm sorry it's the rules." Vanessa picked up the tray and turned to the door.

"Please." Hope said stopping her. "You can blindfold me, tie my hands behind my back if you have to, but please let me see my daughter. I need to see her. I need to hold her and know that she's alright." Hope pleaded with her as tears streamed out of the corners of her eyes. "You seem like a really nice person. Won't you please help me? No one has to know. I swear I won't tell anyone, just please let me see my daughter."

Vanessa opened the door without saying a word and silently closed it behind her. Hope sat back on the bed pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. Her silent tears turned into sobs. "Brady I need you. We need you."

Hope jumped when moments later the door opened and Alicia stood in the door frame.

"Hi Mom." Alicia said with a bright smile.

……

"Bo wait up." Steve said in a loud whisper. They were scaling the walls of Dimera Manor. "Where's Donovan?" He asked him.

"He went back to the car to get the map of the dungeons. We'll need it once we get into the underground tunnels. I had a look at it earlier. There are close to twenty tunnels leading in all directions." Bo explained in a low voice.

"I'm here." Shane whispered from behind Bo. Let's get moving. I saw Dimera's car leaving when I went back to get the maps. We just might be able to get in there and pull them out before he gets back." Shane, Bo, and Steve climbed over the wall and snuck along the grounds to the back tunnel entrance.

"Well Donovan I think it's time for you to pull out that trusty map and see which one of these entrances is the right one." Steve stood looking dumbfounded at six different doors all lined in a row.

"Whoa. What the…?" Bo scratched at his head. "Why would there be so many doors all in one spot when they all lead to the same dungeon?" Bo shook his head and went to look at the map Shane had pulled out.

"Could be traps in all but one of these to keep people from getting in." Shane looked over the map. "We have to figure out which one is the right one."

"What do you say we have a look behind door number one." Steve jokingly said as he went to open the first door.

"Steve wait!" Shane called out to him. "We don't know what we're dealing with here. We need to be absolutely sure we have the right entrance. We don't want to set off any alarms alerting the staff we're here." Shane cautioned him.

"So which door will it be?" Steve asked.

"According to this map, I'd say it's this door here." Shane pointed at the third door in from the right. "We should still proceed with caution."

"Are you sure it's this one and not that one?" Bo asked pointing at the third door in from the left. "We could be reading the map wrong and it's the one on the left, not the right."

"So now we play the guessing game." Steve said. "Or we could flip a coin?"

"This isn't a game we're playing." Bo said angrily. "My family's life is on the line here."

"Relax Bo. I know what's on the line here. I just think we need to open one of these doors and get in there to rescue Hope and Alicia." Steve walked over to the two doors in question looking for any clues.

"I still think it's the one on the right." Shane told him.

"All right then. Let's open the door." Bo proceeded to open the door. It eased open without any problems. "That seems almost a little too easy." Bo looked inside cautiously. "Doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Let's go, but be careful."

Bo, Shane, and Steve entered the tunnel. "So far so good." Steve said. Bo made a face at him. "What? I just mean so far we're in the clear."

"Keep your voice down. I can hear something up ahead." Bo whispered to Steve. He grabbed his gun and moved cautiously along the tunnel with Shane and Steve following closely behind him. They walked until they came to a door. Bo placed his fingers on his lips motioning for them to keep quiet.

"Stefano wants extra security place along the perimeters of the grounds. No one is to get in or out." They could hear people talking just beyond the door. "I want you to take five men with you to patrol the grounds.""Will do." Footsteps retreated away from the door.

"Let's go." Bo motioned for Steve and Shane to follow.

Gun shots rang out all around. Bo fired his gun ducking bullets all around him. Someone was pushing him from behind. Steve pulled the guy off Bo and started punching him in the face. Shane fired off rounds from his gun as bullets hit and rang off the surrounding walls. Bo jumped out of the way of a passing bullet. It skinned his forearm. The fighting continued until several of Stefano's men lay writhing on the ground.

"Someone radio Mike and get more men in here!" One of the men called out. Bo grabbed the guy from behind and held his gun to his head. "Make them back off or I'll blow your brains out."

"Milo, Jake, Vinny, back off." He hollered to the few who were still left standing.

"Drop your weapons or he's a dead man!" They dropped their guns. "Kick them over here and stand up against the wall." Milo, Jake, and Vinny did as they were told. Shane and Steve patted them down to see if they held anymore weapons. "Let's get them over there to the dungeons and lock them up." They dragged Stefano's men over to the dungeons. Some of the men lay unconscious on the ground bleeding to death. Bo, Shane, and Steve made their way to the stairs. At the top, they came face to face with Vanessa who was curious about the shooting.

She screamed at the sight of them. "Don't hurt me!" She backed away until she hit the wall.

"I won't as long as you tell me where my wife and daughter are." Bo told her.

"Your daughter is right in here." Vanessa pointed to Alicia's door. I have the key right here. She pulled it out of her pocket with shaky hands. Bo grabbed the keys from her and unlocked the door. Alicia was sitting on the bed staring at the walls when her father entered the room.

"DADDY!" She ran to him, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. "I knew you'd save us." She threw her arms around his neck sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's okay. I got you." Bo soothed his daughter. "Sh. It's okay baby. I'm here. You're safe." Bo held her tightly in his arms thankful she hadn't been hurt. "Listen, I know you're going through a lot of emotions right now, but we need to go get your mom so we can get out of here before Stefano gets back." Bo grabbed Alicia's hand and led her out of the room. "Where's my wife?" Bo sneered at Vanessa who was being held by Steve.

"She's right down the hall on the right. The last room at the end." Vanessa pointed down the hall.

Bo and Alicia went to find Hope. Bo unlocked the door and let Alicia enter before him. "Hi Mom." Alicia grinned through her tears before running to grab her in a hug. Hope was shocked to see Bo follow her into the room. "Brady." She smiled at him. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. Let's get out of here." She held Alicia and they both walked over to Bo. She kissed him and reached for his hand as they mad their way back out of the room.

……

Bo and his family met up with Steve and Shane. "What should we do with her?" Shane asked motioning to Vanessa.

"Lock her up in the room Stefano held my daughter in." Bo told him. Steve shoved her in the room and locked the door. "Let's get out of here now." Bo turned to take Hope's hand and noticed Alicia was missing. "Hope? Where's Alicia?" Bo asked looking around.

"I'm right here." Alicia poked her head from around the corner. "The tunnels are this way."

"Where did you go?" Bo asked her.

"I just went to make sure the coast was clear." Alicia walked ahead of the group leading them down the stairs to the dungeons. "What happened here?" She asked noticing all the dead bodies on the ground.

"We had a little hold up." Steve chuckled.

"Dad, where are you going?" Alicia asked her father as he turned down a tunnel. "This isn't the way out. We have to turn left here." She told him.

Shane opened the map to look it over again. "No Alicia. The way out is down this tunnel to the right of us." he examined the map intently. "The left tunnel leads to nowhere.""You seriously think that map is accurate?" Alicia asked him. "Where did you get that anyway?"

"I have my sources. Look we made our way in here just fine and I believe if we follow back the way we came we'll do just fine." Shane persisted.

"Dad, I know how to get out of here. I've been here before. Remember? I escaped. I know the way out." Alicia went to turn down the left tunnel. "This way is much easier."

"I still think we should follow the map. You can't be sure which way you left here the last time. You were trying to escape Stefano's men so it's possible your memory might not be as accurate as these maps." Shane told her.

"I have a perfect memory." She hissed. "I know the way. Dad, trust me on this."

Bo looked from his daughter to Shane to Hope. He didn't know what to do. He knew they had no problem getting in using the map. "Alicia we made it in just fine. I think we should head back out the same way we came in."

"But I'm sure some kind of silent alarm must have been set off when you came in. It might have been easy to get in, but I'm sure the security has been doubled and it won't be as simple to get out." Alicia was growing impatient.

"There was nothing in the tunnel that hinted at an alarm of any kind."

"So then all the gun shots I heard going off were just my imagination? As well as all those dead bodies back there." Alicia cut him off. "Why do you think they were down here in the first place? Stefano has one maybe two men patrolling the underground tunnels and dungeons. You guys set off an alarm."

"Let's not argue about this." Hope said trying to keep the peace. "Listen, Alicia knows this place better than any of us. I say we trust her and go this way." She said pointing to the tunnel Alicia wanted them to go down.

"I still don't like this. You might trust her, but I don't." Shane followed the group down the left tunnel. Several feet in all chaos broke out. Smoke filled the air blinding them.

An ominous laugh was heard in back of them. "You think you could get away that easily?" Stefano's voice boomed through the tunnel.

Hope turned in all directions trying to find Bo and Alicia. "Bo! Alicia!"

"Hope! I'm right here." Bo called out from afar. "Alicia!!" Bo heard the safety clip of a gun being released.

"I'm right here!" Alicia called out. The smoke began to clear.

"ALICIA! NO!" Bo's face paled as his eyes adjusted to the scene before him. Alicia had a gun aimed at her mother's head. "Don't do this. Come on kid. This isn't what you want.""Don't tell me what I want!" Alicia shouted. "I wanted a family, but instead I was raised in hell!"

"Alicia. Please. Put the gun down." Bo pleaded with her. "Don't do this. Your mother loves you. You know she does."

"She loved me so much she forgot all about me." Alicia scoffed at him. "She made me promises she could never keep. Isn't that right Mummy?" Alicia whispered in her mother's ear.

"Looks like I have the last laugh after all." Stefano laughed.

"Alicia. Please." Hope cried. "I love you. You know that. I never meant to leave you. Stefano was the reason we were kept apart." Tears streamed down Hope's face. She looked over to Bo. Her body shook with sobs. "Sweetie. Don't do this. We can still be a family."Alicia grabbed her mother's arm tighter behind her back. "YOU DON"T LOVE ME! YOU NEVER DID!"

"Pull the trigger Alicia!" Stefano ordered. "DO IT NOW!"

"NO!" Bo ran forward to try and stop her. They struggled with the gun. A shot rang out during the struggle. "Oh God. What have I done."

……

Bo's face paled as he saw the blood pouring out of Alicia's stomach. "I'm sorry." He grabbed her lifeless body as she fell forward and gently laid her on the ground holding her in his arms. "Alicia. Open your eyes." Bo held his daughter gently tapping her cheek to wake her. He hugged her close and cried. "I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Hope sat beside them in tears. "Alicia. I know you didn't mean any of what you said. Please wake up." Hope looked up to see Steve and Shane running off after Stefano. "Bo, we need to get her out of here. She's losing too much blood." Bo picked up Alicia gently cradling her in his arms. "I don't get it, Bo. She never said anything like that before. She's so loving. What could Stefano have done to her to make her change like that?"

"I don't know. We need to get her well again before we find out. We should head back the way I came in. I don't think Alicia was leading us out of here." Bo and Hope walked back to the beginning of the tunnel. They could hear Steve and Shane hollering to Stefano.

"Get back here you bastard." Steve yelled out.

"We need to get help." Bo said as he came face to face with…"What the hell?" Bo and Hope stopped dead in their tracks. He and Hope both did a double take. "It can't be." Bo nodded his head repeatedly as he looked at the girl standing in front of him.

"Mom? Dad? Who's that?" Alicia pointed at the lifeless body Bo was carrying. She looked at them with confusion in her eyes. "What happened? You were with me and then I got shoved into a wall. When I came to I was lying on a bed and you both were gone. Where did you go?"

Bo and Hope looked at the girl before them and then down at the one in Bo's arms. "What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"

"Daddy? It's me." Tears welled up in Alicia's eyes. "You just rescued me and mom. What's going on here?" She looked at her mother's face and went to hug her. "Mom?"

Hope held her back. "I don't know what's going on here. I can't be sure you are who you say you are." Hope looked at the girl in Bo's arms and then back up to the one standing before her. They were identical. "Did you have a twin sister?" She asked her.

"NO! Mom it's me! I swear I'm Alicia! Ask me something you know only I could know the answer to." Alicia pleaded with her. "I'm your daughter! Not her." Alicia pointed at the motionless body.

"Right now, all I know is she's bleeding to death. We need to get her help. As soon as we get out of this place and get some help, we'll get to the bottom of this." Hope said.

"Let's go." Bo walked down the tunnel he and the guys had come in earlier. They made their way to the car and Bo placed the girl he was carrying on the back seat. He turned to her look-a-like. Could she be the real Alicia? After everything that just happened down in the tunnels, he didn't know what to believe. The Alicia who held a gun to her mother's head was irrational, but she said things that made sense. Her anger for being left behind all those years; he couldn't be sure. The Alicia before him was more rash and her eyes were so sincere. He had been fooled once before by Stefano when he believed Princess Gina was Hope. He didn't want to take any chances.

They all got in the car and Bo radioed for backup. "We need to get to the hospital."

Hope looked over at him wondering if he was thinking the same thing she was. Who should they believe.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

_Bo and Hope sat in the hospital waiting room for news. Alicia sat beside them calmly going over everything that happened. They arrived at the hospital three hours ago. The Alicia who had been shot was rushed into surgery. Bo asked for a DNA test to be done on both girls. The sooner he got to the bottom of this the better. Kayla led the second Alicia to a room to withdraw her blood._

"_Why Don't they believe me?" She questioned Kayla. "How can they think I'd hurt my mother? It's obvious she's the imposter. I'd never do anything to hurt either of them. I thought we were past all this." Alicia rambled on as Kayla drew tubes of blood from her arm. "How soon before we get the results?" She asked glancing down at the blood squirting into the tube. Alicia felt faint at the sight of her own blood._

"_The results won't take too long. I'll run the tests myself." She told Alicia._

"_You don't believe me either, do you?" Alicia looked her aunt in the eye._

"_I don't know what to think. The resemblance is too uncanny." She looked at Alicia and saw she was on the verge of tears. "We'll know the results soon enough. I want to believe you, but I know what Stefano is capable of doing. You have to understand what Bo and Hope are going through right now. Stefano took Hope away from us and had her impersonate a Princess very believably to all the people who knew the real Princess. And at one point, Princess Gina was here impersonating Hope very convincingly. I'd really like to believe you. Trust me I do want to." Kayla told her. "I just don't know what to think right now."_

"_I've been here in Salem for the past month. How could I know so many things about this family if I'm the impersonator?" Alicia reasoned with her._

"_Stefano knows all too many details about the Brady family. He could've been feeding them to you."_

"_But I would never hurt my mother!" Alicia looked at her with angry eyes. "That girl, whomever she is, is not me. I'm Alicia." _

"_We'll know that soon enough. Like I said, I want more than anything to believe you are who you say you are. I want to believe Hope's daughter would never pull a gun on her, but I also know Stefano and what he's capable of doing."_

_Bo and Hope paced outside the door waiting for Alicia to be done. "I don't know what to think Brady. This is killing me right now to think our Alicia could pull a gun on me. They look so much alike it's hard to tell which one is our Alicia." _

_Bo pulled his wife into his embrace. "We'll know soon enough. Once Kayla runs the tests we'll know if she's Alicia or if our daughter is in surgery fighting for her life." Bo cringed remembering the gun going off in his hands and Alicia's body contorting as she fell forward from the gun wound. "I don't want to be guilty for shooting my own daughter. I pray to God she's alright." Bo kissed Hope's hair._

"_Hi." Alicia said to her parents after she was finished getting her blood taken. "Do you want me to answer some personal questions so you now I'm the real Alicia?" She asked them._

"_I don't know what to think right now. I want to believe you could never hurt your mother, but after everything Stefano has put this family through I need to be sure." Bo told Alicia. "Why don't we go to the waiting room where we can talk until we know more." The trio made their way down to the lounge where they still sat in silence after three hours of waiting on news from the surgery and the DNA results._

……

"_Steve! I think he's over here." Shane called out to him. The two had been chasing Stefano through the tunnels. They turned down many halls always one step behind the Phoenix. After running for what seemed like an hour, they finally came to the tunnel entrance. Shane and Steve raced after Stefano who was climbing into his car. _

"_Get back here you coward!" Steve spat at him. He and Shane watched as Stefano's car sped off. Cruisers surrounded them on all sides. Stefano managed to pass through slamming into several cruisers as he did._

_Roman emerged from one of the patrol cars and hollered to Steve and Shane. "Over here! Let's go!" They both ran to the car and jumped in. _

"_Let's go man!" Steve yelled as they scrambled into the back seat. Roman sped off after Dimera. They chased him down the highway speeding up to one hundred miles an hour. "Keep on him man. We can't let him get away again." Steve held the back of Roman's head rest._

_Stefano swerved in and out of traffic. Cars honked their horns all around him. Roman kept on his tail just a few feet behind. "Where the hell is he going?" Roman wondered aloud. He reached for his radio to call into headquarters for more back up. "I want road blocks put up on I-80 now. Suspect is headed North along I-80 towards Littlefield's. Get me some back up!" Roman yelled into the radio. He swerved to avoid being hit. They where climbing up the side of a narrow cliff when Stefano's car veered and went careening down the side of it. His car blew up erupting into flames. Shane, Steve, and Roman looked on to see if anyone emerged from the car. "I guess I better radio in for rescue." _

"_I don't see how anyone could have survived that wreck." Shane mused._

"_The Phoenix has risen before." Steve mumbled._

……

_Alicia paced back and forth around the waiting area. She glanced over at her parents sitting huddled together. "How much longer do you think it will be?" She asked._

"_I don't know. Kayla said she'd bring the results up as soon as she has them." Bo answered her. _

"_I was talking about the operation. I already know the results of the blood tests. I just want to get some answers from that girl. How can you still think I'm not your daughter?" Alicia asked looking angrily at them._

"_I already told you…" Bo started._

"_I know what you told me. I know what Mom told me. And I know what Aunt Kayla told me. I'm your daughter, not that imposter in there who's fighting for her life. You know a part of me wishes she doesn't make it, because I don't want her to be able to come after my mother again." She started pacing again. "Mom. Look at me. I would never do anything to hurt you. You should know that. Look!" She reached down to grab her locket. "I still have the locket you gave me all those years ago. See." She showed it to her mother._

"_You could've taken it from her. We were locked in separate rooms. I don't know who went in or out of her room. You might be the imposter here." Hope looked at her with a heavy heart. She could see the pain in her eyes, but didn't know if she could trust it was really her daughter. The resemblance was too canny. They even spoke the same. Alicia's eyes pleaded with her breaking Hope's heart into a million pieces._

"_I'm your daughter." She said barely above a whisper. Alicia bit at her lip. "I sent Vanessa to give you a message from me. I wanted you to know I was okay. Did she relay the message?" Alicia asked._

"_Yes. But it still doesn't mean you're Alicia. If you're working for Stefano you could have sent me the message so you could make me believe you're my daughter now." Hope tried to make her see why she didn't trust she could be her daughter. "How do I know for sure? Stefano could've implanted memory cells of Alicia in your head. I don't know what he did while we were locked up in his house."_

_Alicia sat down feeling defeated. Her body racked with tears. She placed her head in her hands and continued to cry. "Why would I agree to a DNA test if I thought for a second it would come out wrong?" She cried._

_Hope reached out to her gently rubbing her back. "I want more than anything to believe my daughter could never hurt me." Hope reached out to cup Alicia's face in her hands and lifted it to meet her eyes. She looked into her eyes and saw all the pain staring back at her. "What happened at the manor?" Hope asked her._

"_Dad rescued me and then we went to get you. We left and as we were walking down the hall, I felt someone grab me from behind and slam me into a wall. Everything went black and when I came to you were gone." Alicia took a deep breath trying to calm her sobs. "I searched the rooms and when I didn't find anyone, I decided to check the dungeons. I thought maybe Stefano had gotten you. I heard a gun go off in one of the tunnels and footsteps running down another tunnel. I raced to see if something had happened to you and saw Dad carrying that girl in his arms. I've never seen her before and I don't have a twin that I know of." Alicia stopped. "Mom, I …" Alicia saw Kayla headed their way._

_Hope and Bo both looked up in the direction of Alicia's eyes. _

"_I don't have the DNA test results just yet, but I wanted to tell you the surgery went well." She told the three of them._

"_Can we see her?" Bo asked._

"_She's in recovery right now. She won't be awake for a little while." Kayla informed him. She glanced over at Alicia's tear stained face. "It won't be much longer for the test results.""Thanks Kay." Hope told her._

_Alicia wiped at her tears. "I guess it won't be much longer now before you know the truth."_

_Hope reached out to Alicia and pulled her into a hug. Alicia wrapped her arms around her mother and held on for dear life as the tears flowed freely once again._

……

"_Hey Sweetness." Steve grabbed Kayla and spun her around. "What's going on? I thought you would be home with baby Joe and Ciara."_

"_I was, but I got called in for an emergency. Ciara and Joe are with my mom at the pub." Kayla hugged Steve. "Hold me in your arms.""What's wrong Sweetness?" Steve asked her._

"_I just wish I could take away the pain my brother and his family are feeling right now." Kayla couldn't believe how much they had been put through over the last month. _

"_How's Alicia doing?" Steve asked her._

"_Which one?" She asked._

_Steve looked at her confused. "What do you mean which one?"_

"_Weren't you with my brother tonight?" Kayla pulled back from Steve to see his face._

"_Yeah, baby. We were together in the tunnels when Stefano showed up and all hell broke loose. Alicia pulled a gun on Hope and Bo went after her, they struggled and the gun went off. Alicia got shot. Then Shane and I took off after Dimera. What am I missing here?" He asked her._

"_There's two of them. Both of them are identical to each other. One got shot and the other claims to be the real Alicia. I'd like to think she is, because the Alicia I know would never do anything to hurt Hope. We're just waiting on some test results now."_

"_Two Alicia's? Are they twins?" Steve asked._

"_Not that we know. Alicia thinks the other Alicia is an imposter. Listen to me, this sounds insane. Anyway she claims she didn't have a twin and never saw this girl before in her life." Kayla said. "So what happened with Stefano?"_

"_We chased after him, he got away and we got into a high speed chase. His car took a nose dive off a cliff and exploded into flames. But you know the Phoenix, he has a way popping back up to wreak havoc on the Brady's. He's risen from the dead one too many times in the past.""Let's hope this time he stays dead." Kayla looked at her watch. "Steve I need to check on some test results. Bo and Hope are down in the hospital lounge if you want to go see them. I don't think anyone has filled Bo in on Stefano."_

"_Okay baby. Just come over here and plant one on me before you go." Kayla laughed as he pulled her in his embrace to kiss her._

……

"_Darling we just heard on the news Stefano was killed in a car accident." Julie informed Bo and Hope as she came into the lounge. "Is it true?"_

"_I dunno. We've been here all this time. Speaking of which, how did you know to find us here?" Bo asked her._

"_Kayla called and said you might need some support." Julie looked over at Hope and Alicia. "What's going on? You can cut the tension with a knife. Is something wrong? It's not Ciara is it?"_

"_No. Ciara is with my mom." Bo told her. "It's not that.""Well if it isn't Ciara and the three of you are sitting here, then what could it be?" Doug asked them._

"_They think I'm an imposter." Alicia spoke up not bothering to lift her head to meet their eyes._

"_Hope I'm so glad you're okay." Melissa came in and went over to her cousin to hug her. "Everything is okay, right?" She glanced around at the somber faces._

"_Hey Bo." Steve walked in. "Have you heard the news?"_

"_Julie just filled us in. What happened?" He asked Steve._

_Steve recalled the events leading up to the car going over the cliff and exploding. "Roman is downtown filing a report and Shane took some of the burnt remains to ISA to have it analyzed for human DNA." Steve looked over at Alicia. "So Kayla filled me in on your dilemma."_

"_Yeah. Why don't we go grab some coffee for everyone." Bo and Steve left to discuss the events of the day. "I don't know what to think man. We were getting so close as a family and to think it was all a lie and she really held it against Hope all these years for leaving her. I don't know what to think. Shane kept warning me not to trust her. After seeing all those videos of her on that disc, man I'm just so confused right now. I want to believe the girl sitting in there by Hope is my daughter and the one who just pulled through the surgery is the imposter. But you know how Stefano works. What if she isn't my daughter?" Bo's head was spinning._

"_You need to get a grip, man. Kayla said she ran a DNA test. So just relax and wait for the results. You shouldn't get yourself all worked up until you know the truth." Steve grabbed his shoulder. "Listen man, I know you're going through more than anyone should right now. I just think you need to wait for the results before you do or say anything you might regret later."_

"_I hear you man. I just wish I had those results already. It's killing me to see this kid sitting beside Hope all racked up with tears pleading for us to believe her. And then to think if she isn't telling the truth and my daughter is the one who just got out of surgery; man I put that bullet in her. That is something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." Bo grabbed the pot of coffee and began pouring out some cups. "Either way you dice it I feel guilty. If I shot my own daughter or if I'm accusing my daughter of being an imposter, neither one is any less painful. To see the look in her eyes. She's so angry at us for not believing her. She makes a lot of valid points too. I mean if she isn't who she says she is, why would she stick around and go through with a DNA test that could prove her wrong?" _

"_I don't know. Guess we'll find out soon enough. Here comes Kayla." _

……

"_Hey Bo. Did Steve fill you in on Stefano?" Kayla asked her brother who eyed the file in her hands._

"_Yes. Are those the results?" He asked pointing at the file. "What does it say?" He asked anxiously awaiting the results._

"_I haven't had a chance to look at them yet. I thought I'd wait to share it with all of you. Why don't we go over there with Hope and Ali…" Kayla wasn't sure what to call her exactly._

"_It's okay I know who you mean." Bo followed her over to Hope and the rest of the family._

"_Kay, do you have the results?" Hope looked up at her sister-in-law and then back at Alicia._

"_I have them right here." Kayla held up the file._

"_Finally. Now everyone will know the truth." Alicia cried out._

_Hope wrapped her arm around Alicia's shoulder. "So what are they?" She asked Kayla._

"_Let me have a look here. I ran the test three times to be sure, but I didn't look at the results yet, so just bear with me. Okay the results of Alicia one…" She looked over at Alicia. "That's you….are ninety-nine point nine percent positive match." Kayla went through the pages. "It's the same for all three tests."_

_Alicia let a few tears fall knowing her family wouldn't be looking at her questionably anymore. They knew the truth now, she was their Alicia. She looked up to see the relief on her father's face and saw it quickly fill with guilt. Alicia got up and walked over to him. "Dad. I know you didn't do any of this to hurt me. I get why you would even question it. But…" Bo pulled her into a bear hug. _

"_I'm sorry kid. I can't tell you how relieved I am that you are my daughter and you didn't try to kill your mother." He started to cry. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."_

"_There's nothing to forgive." Alicia held on to her dad. "I love you Daddy. Nothing else matters now." Hope joined them in the hug. "I love you Mom." _

_Kayla let them have their moment while she went over the rest of the results._

"_Dr Johnson? Can I have a word with you?" Dr. Peterson called her into the hall._

"_What is it?" Kayla asked._

"_I know you were running some DNA on my patient. I thought I'd let you know the patient had some major plastic surgery done to her face. And if my guess is correct, the girl I just operated on is closer to thirty and not twenty like you thought." Dr. Peterson informed her._

"_Thank you." Kayla turned to go back into the lounge. "What do I do now?" She looked back at the test results and then over at her brother and his family. "I don't want to cause them anymore pain."_

"_What's wrong Sweetness?" Steve asked her._

"_I'm not sure. It could be nothing, but I need to run some more tests to be sure." Kayla held her gaze on the trio in the corner. "I just hope I don't have to give them any bad news. They've been through enough already.""Kayla?"_

"_I'm sorry. I already told you more than I should have." Kayla walked over to Alicia. "Sweetie. I need to run some more tests on you."_

"_Why? You said you ran the test three times and they all came out the same." Alicia looked at her with tears building up in her eyes. _

"_They did. However, I noticed some abnormalities in your blood. It could be nothing, but I'd like to run some more tests to be sure."_

"_What do you mean exactly? Is there something wrong with me?" the tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. Hope pulled her close. "Mom?" She turned into her mother's arms and sobbed._

"_We don't know that anything is wrong, but I'd feel a lot safer if we ran the tests to be sure." Kayla reached out and placed a hand on Alicia's shoulder. "I'm sorry to worry you. I just want to know you are okay."_

"_Kay, what exactly are we talking about here? What kind of tests do you want to run?" Hope asked her._

"_I don't want to say anything to upset anyone." Kayla looked down at the floor trying to avoid the pained looks she was getting."Kay please." Hope begged her._

"_Alicia might be in the early stages of cancer." Kayla informed them. "But before you all start getting upset, it could just be a glitch in the results. I just want to run some tests to make sure so we can treat her if she is."_

_**.…..**_

"_Mom will you stay with me?" Alicia held onto her mother's hand as she waited for Kayla to withdraw some more blood._

"_I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here every step of the way." Hope brushed the hair out of her daughter's face. "We need to be positive." She said trying to wipe the worried look off Alicia's face. _

"_Okay here we go." Kayla stuck the needle in Alicia's arm and withdrew several tubes of blood._

_Alicia looked away so she wouldn't faint at the sight of her blood. "You are most definitely my daughter." Hope told her. "I can't stand needles either." Alicia laughed._

"_There we go." Kayla placed a bandage on Alicia's arm. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"_

"_How soon before you know?" Alicia asked her._

"_It shouldn't take more than a few days." Alicia looked down at the floor. Kayla could see the worry in her eyes. "Look, why don't you go home and get some rest. You've been through an awful lot."_

"_I think that's a great idea." Hope said. "Come on sweetie. Your dad is waiting out in the hall."_

"_Okay." Alicia grabbed her mother's hand as they walked out to meet Bo. _

"_You about ready to go?" Bo asked them. They both nodded yes. "Okay. I want to swing by Ma's and pick up Ciara before we go home." The three of them left the hospital._

……

_The Brady pub was dark when Bo, Hope, and Alicia entered. Bo called out to his mother, but no one answered. "That's funny. She said she would be down here when I called her from the car." Bo switched on the light switch._

"_SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled out all at once. A banner was strewn across the bar. 'Welcome Home Alicia and Hope!'_

"_What do you think about that?" Bo asked Alicia as Caroline came to greet them._

"_Where you surprised?" Caroline asked them._

"_Yeah. Id' say we were." Bo took his jacket off and threw it on the nearest booth. "Where's my little sugar bear?" He asked as he heard the faint sounds of laughter coming out from under the table. "Come here you little monkey." He grabbed Ciara in his arms lifting her above his head before pulling her into a hug. "I have someone here I know you've been wanting to see." Bo walked over to Hope to hand their youngest daughter to her._

"_My baby." Hope pulled her into her embrace. "I've missed you so much." She kissed her cheek._

"_I missed you to. Are we going home now?" She asked her mother._

"_Soon, baby. Right now I think we're going to eat some of Grandma Caroline's chowder."_

"_Yeah. I helped her make it." Ciara gushed. "We made a special one for Alicia, because she's my new sister and I love her."_

_Alicia came over to give Ciara a hug. "I love you too." _

"_Will you be my sister forever and ever?" Ciara asked her._

_A lump came into Alicia's throat. She wasn't sure about her future, but she didn't want to worry her little sister. "Of course I will." She hugged her close as two tears escaped her eyes. Hope went over to her to hug them both._

"_This is a celebration. There's no room for tears here." Julie came over to hug her sister and granddaughters. _

"_I want in on this group hug." Doug said as he hugged them too._

"_Hey! Make room for me." Bo piped in. Alicia's tears turned to joy as she received hugs from both the Brady clan as well as all of the Horton's. She was glad they hadn't gone straight home. She loved being part of such a great family. She knew she'd never be alone again._

"_Hey sis." Chelsea tapped Alicia on her shoulder. "Mind if I get a hug?" Alicia hugged her sister._

"_Well I don't know about all of you, but I'm hungry. Let's eat." Caroline called out to everyone. Steve and Bo pushed tables together so the whole family could sit down together. Alicia looked around at her newfound family and for once, she wasn't worried about what the future held for her._


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Hope lay peacefully in Bo's arms as the morning sun rose up over the horizon. She reached out her arm to stretch and woke Bo. "Hey Fancy Face." Bo smiled sheepishly at her. "You been awake long?" He asked her.

"Not long." She said as Bo leaned in for a kiss. "I've been going over everything that happened yesterday." Hope told him.

"Still feeling as guilty as I am for not believing Alicia?" He asked.

"A part of me did believe her, but I .." Bo placed his finger on her lip silencing her.

"I know what you mean. We couldn't be sure with everything that went on. I have to say I'm glad it didn't turn out that she wasn't our daughter. I think I'd feel even guiltier if I had put our daughter in the hospital." Bo still couldn't get over the resemblance of the two girls. "I'd like to know who the other girl is. I wonder if she was willingly working for Stefano or if she was just another victim."

"Bo, I've been thinking about something." Hope said.

"What's that?"

"We never showed any of the video footage to Alicia. We just asked her about what we saw on the disc. Do you think it's possible the girl on the disc wasn't Alicia?" Hope asked him as she raised herself up on Bo's chest. "Think about it. She claimed she went along with the teachings so Stefano wouldn't hurt her. Maybe the girl on the disc was this imposter we saw. You said yourself, she looked proud at her accomplishments. Whenever Alicia talks about it she always gets withdrawn and she looks disgusted at what she had to do for him. I don't think she'd be smiling while aiming a gun at my head."

"She did tell me when she fired the rounds at your picture she was imagining Dimera's face there instead of yours. I think I'd look just as happy after pumping that many rounds into his smug face." Bo told her.

"That's you Brady. Alicia doesn't seem like the type of person who would take pleasure in hurting anyone regardless of what they might've done to her." Hope rose from the bed and grabbed her robe. "I still think we should ask her about it. I'm going to make breakfast. You want some?" She called over her shoulder as she made her way to the bedroom door.

Bo was behind her when she reached the door. He grabbed her around the waist and spun her around to face him. "I'd love some breakfast, but first I want to make love to my wife." He pulled her into a passionate kiss. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again, be able to hold you in my arms or kiss you." His lips met hers again and they slowly made their way back to the bed pulling off each other's clothes. They fell back on the bed and made passionate love to each other. Bo held Hope in his arms thankful to have her safely there once again. He didn't want to ever be separated from her again.

……

Alicia woke up feeling relieved to be in her own room again. She got up from her bed and opened the blinds to look out her window. She finally felt safe enough to look out her own window. She could smell the fresh scent of coffee and breakfast wafting their way to her room. She grabbed her robe pulling it on and went down to join her family for breakfast.

"Good morning sweetheart." Hope hugged her daughter. "Are you hungry?" She asked.

Alicia nodded her head before taking a seat beside her sister Ciara. "Morning Ciara."

"Good morning." Ciara smiled up at her. "Are you going to stay home today?" She asked her. "I want to play with you."

"I'd like that." Alicia told her. Hope brought a plate of food over to Alicia.

"I hope you like this. Melissa found this recipe online." Hope placed a plate of pancakes in front of Alicia. "It's a vegan recipe. I don't know how it tastes. I can't bring myself to try it." Hope told her.

Alicia laughed. "That's okay Mom." She placed a forkful in her mouth. "Mmmm it's delicious."

"Good I'm glad you like it." She took a sip of her coffee. "Alicia, your dad and I want to ask you some questions about when you were with Stefano."

Alicia's face paled as she put the fork back down on her plate. "What do you want to know?" She asked.

"It's not really what we want to know, it's more or less trying to figure out a few things that might give us some indication as to who this imposter is. You never looked at any of the video footage from the disc, right?"

"No. I didn't. Dad wanted me to look at the images of me shooting your picture, but I refused to look. I don't like the memories it brings up." Alicia sat listlessly at the table. "Do you want me to watch it? Is that why you're bringing this up?" She asked her mother.

"I don't want to do anything to hurt you. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this." Hope bit at her lip. "Let me ask you this. When you were doing target practice, how good was your aim?"

Alicia looked puzzled. "Well, it wasn't all that good. I don't know why Stefano kept insisting I keep at it. I was always off target. I guess because a part of me was rebelling against him. I didn't want to cooperate, but I didn't really have a choice either. So, I made it on purpose to shoot off target." Alicia told her mother. "Why do you ask?"

"Just something I saw on the disc that puzzled me. After talking about it with your father, I thought maybe the girl on the disc might not be you after all." Hope pondered over what it could all mean. "Would you mind looking at the disc with me to see if maybe it could be this other girl and not you?" Hope asked her.

"Sure." Alicia went back to eating her breakfast. "Where's Dad?" She asked noticing he wasn't eating breakfast with them. "Is he still in bed?"

"No. He had a trial to go to." Hope said as she got up to start clearing away the breakfast dishes.

……

Bo sat in the courtroom eager to hear the verdict passed on Vito. Higley had already been given the death sentence. He hoped the same would be given to Vito. He watched as the judge returned from deliberation and asked the defendant to please rise. "In the case of Vito Carlen, I find the defendant guilty as charged. You will hereby be sentenced to death by lethal injection on May the 30th in the year 2009."Bo was ecstatic. Finally justice was being served. Stefano was dead or at least as far as they knew and Higley and Vito had both been given the death penalty. Bo left to call Hope and give her the news.

"Hey Brady." Hope said as she answered the phone. "I was just going to call you."

"I wanted to let you know how the trial turned out." Bo told her. "Vito was given the death penalty."

"So will you be home soon?" Hope asked him. "I was wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch?"

"Who will we be having lunch with?" He asked.

"Just the two of us and our lovely daughters." Hope said.

"Great. I'll be home in an hour." Bo said goodbye and hung up the phone. "Roman?" He called out to his brother who had just walked out of the courtroom. "Hang on a minute."

"What can I do for you?" Roman asked.

"I'd like you to do a little digging and find out any information you can on the girl who impersonated my daughter." He told him.

"Will do. Has there been any change? Last I heard from Kayla she was still unconscious." Roman asked.

"No change yet. I wish she'd wake up so I can question her." Bo told him.

"Say little brother, want to go grab some lunch at the pub?"

"Sorry, I can't. Hope just called to see if I'd meet her for lunch with our girls." Bo explained. "I'm heading home now."

"Give my love to them."

"Will do. Later Bro." Bo left the courthouse and made his way to his car.

……

"What time did Dad say he would be home?" Alicia asked.

"He should be here soon. Help me move the couch over there." Hope pointed to the wall.

"Dad is going to be so surprised." Chelsea came in carrying a basket in her hands. "This is a great idea Hope."

"Will Daddy be happy?" Ciara chimed in.

"I think he's going to love this idea." Hope pulled Ciara into a hug. "He gets to spend lunch with all his girls."

"I think I just heard his car pull up." Chelsea went to look out the window. "He's coming up the walkway now."

"You girls finish up in here while I go stall your father." Hope raced outside to greet Bo. "Hey there handsome. Care to give me a kiss?" Hope winked at him.

"What are you up to?" Bo laughed as he pulled his wife into a deep kiss.

"Well if you don't know the answer to that Brady, then I must be losing my touch." She said as she locked lips with him again. Her kiss lingered on his lips as her hands roamed under his jacket and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Not that I don't mind this at all," Bo pulled away from her, "But I thought I was having lunch with my daughters too? Have plans changed? Did you send them out so we could continue what we started this morning?" Bo leaned back in to kiss her again. His lips moved down to her neck leaving a trail of wet kisses.

"Ehem." Chelsea cleared her throat. "I don't mean to interrupt, but lunch is ready." She walked back into the house.

"I guess not." Bo laughed grabbing Hope's behind as he walked into the house. "What do we have here?" Bo looked around the room. The furniture had been moved to the surrounding walls leaving an open space in the middle where a blanket had been spread across the floor. Ciara, Alicia, and Chelsea sat on the blanket with a picnic basket in front of them.

"Do you like our picnic chez Brady house?" Chelsea spread her hands out at all the food.

"We thought we'd have a little picnic. But since it's so very cold out, we decided to bring the picnic inside." Hope grabbed Bo around the waist. "Do you like our idea, Brady?"

"Come and join us Dad." Alicia patted the blanket next to her. Bo and Hope sat down with their children. Chelsea passed out the plates and Ciara handed everyone a napkin.

Hope looked around at all the smiling faces and felt happy she could spend this time with them. Alicia smiled back at her mother, thankful for having taken her mind off the test results. She knew her mother had planned this for her as much as for her father.

"Let's eat." Bo grabbed the basket and started pulling the sandwiches out. "Mmmm, I smell liverwurst. I think this one is mine. Unless you want to share a bite?" He pushed the sandwich towards Hope's mouth and she shoved his hand away.

"Oh god, no. That is all yours, Brady." Everyone laughed and started eating their lunch. The phone rang breaking up the happy little party.

Hope got up to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Hope, it's Kayla. I have the results of Alicia's test. Can you meet me at the hospital in say half an hour?""You have the results already?" Alicia's heart sank at her mother's words. "I thought you said it would take a few days?"

"I put a rush on them. I knew you would want them as soon as possible." Kayla told her. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have another patient to see to."Hope cradled the phone in her hand before hanging it up. "She wants to see us at the hospital." She said to Bo and Alicia.

"I can stay here with Ciara and clean up." Chelsea told her.

Alicia, Bo, and Hope left for the hospital. Alicia sat silent in the back seat wondering if she would be given good news or not.

……

Bo, Hope, and Alicia entered the hospital and looked for Kayla. She wasn't in her office or anywhere they could see.

"Let me have her paged." Bo walked over to the nurses station. "Excuse me? Would you mind paging Dr. Johnson for me?"

"Commissioner Brady. Dr. Johnson is with a patient right now. She told me to expect you. You can wait for her in her office." The nurse told him. "She should be with you momentarily.""Thank you." Bo turned to his wife and daughter. "Let's go."

Alicia sat in a chair playing with her fingers. She couldn't sit still waiting for the news. Hope glanced over at her and took her hand in hers. "It's going to be alright." She squeezed her hand.

"What if it isn't? What if I do have cancer? I've already lost so much time with you. If I have cancer and I die." Hope placed a finger on Alicia's mouth to quiet her.

"We can't jump to any conclusions right now. Why don't we wait until Kayla gets here and gives us the results. It's not doing you any good to think the worst. We don't know what will happen, but I promise you your dad and I will be right here with you every step of the way." Hope lovingly touched her daughter's cheek.

"It's not fair." A few tears escaped Alicia's eyes. "I don't want to die. I don't want to lose you so soon after finally getting home and knowing what it's like to be part of a family."

Bo got up and went over to his daughter drawing her into a hug. "Hey baby girl. Look at me." He gently lifted her face to meet his gaze. "Your mom is right. You can't think like this. We'll know soon enough what the results are. But until then, I refuse to believe you have cancer. Your Aunt Kayla even said it could be nothing more than just a glitch in the first set of tests results. Who knows? Maybe there was a piece of dust that landed in the blood before they took a look at it." Alicia smiled at her father. "The point is, there's no sense in worrying about what we don't know to be true. Let's just wait until Kayla gets here and gives us the results." Bo pulled Alicia closer to him in a bear hug. "I love you." He said as he kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Daddy."

"Good you're all here." Kayla walked into her office and sat down. "I have your test results right here." She opened a file on her desk. "Let me see here." She rifled through the papers. It's just as I thought. The first test must have had a glitch. These test results came back negative. You don't have cancer."

Alicia cried in relief. Bo and Hope both held her in their embrace. "See all that worrying for nothing." Bo looked at his daughter. "What do you say we get out of this stuffy place and go celebrate?"

"I'd love that." Alicia was so relieved to hear the news. Her heart was filled with joy. She was safe and healthy and home with her family.

"So what shall we do? I'm not sure I can top that little picnic we had this afternoon, but maybe dinner with the family?" Bo asked her. "You know what? Don't answer that. I have a better idea." Bo got up to leave.

"Bo? Where are you going?" Hope asked him.

"I need to go take care of a few things. Why don't the two of you meet me back at home?" Bo was walking out the door when Hope stopped him.

"We came in the same car, Brady." She grabbed his hand pulling him back.

"I forgot about that." Bo looked over at his sister. "Kay, you finished working?"

"As of right now I am. Why?" She asked him.

"Mind doing me a favor and dropping my girls off at home?"

"Sure. If you'll just give me a minute I'll be ready to go." She told Hope and Alicia.

"Good. See you back at home." Bo kissed his daughter's cheek and pulled Hope into a light kiss before heading out.

"I wonder what he's planning?" Hope mused as she watched him walk down the hall.

……

Alicia ran down the stairs to answer the door. "Hi." She said as she yanked it open.

"There's my beautiful granddaughter." Doug hugged her. He and Julie walked in to the living room. "Hi Princess." Doug greeted his daughter who had just come in from the kitchen.

Hope looked at him questioningly. "Hi Daddy. I wasn't expecting you." She said as she returned his hug. "Julie." She hugged her sister. "What brings you by?"

"Bo called and asked us to come over. He told us the good news." Julie walked over to Alicia. "I'm so happy you're going to be okay." She hugged her. "Where is Bo?" She asked Hope. "He told us to meet him here."

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since he left the hospital." She told her.

"Hey everyone." Bo walked in the door.

"Bo, there you are." Hope went over to kiss him. "Where have you been and what have you been up to, Brady."

"It's a surprise." He drew her lips into another kiss. "Doug, Julie. Did you get everything set up all right?" Bo asked them.

"Yes. We did. Marlon was more than happy to help out. Here's the key. You go have fun." Doug and Julie said their goodbye's and left.

"Bo?" Hope looked at him questioningly. "What's the surprise?" She asked again.

"All in good time." Bo went to hug Alicia. "You ready to go? You might want to grab a thick sweater." Bo told her. "Where's Ciara?" He asked looking around the room.

"She's upstairs playing.""Ciara!" Bo hollered up the stairs to her. "I need you to dress her warmly. Chelsea won't be joining us. She has a date. But, we'll still have fun.""Daddy! Daddy!" Ciara raced down the stairs and into her father's awaiting arms.

It didn't take long before they were all packed in the car heading down to the piers. Bo pulled over and parked the car. "Let's go." He said getting out. He grabbed a basket from the backseat and led his family down to the docks.

"Bo, where are we going?" Hope asked him for the third time.

"Have a little patience." He laughed as he led them aboard a boat.

"Brady? Who's boat is this?" She asked him.

"It's a friend of your father's, Marlon. He's lending us the boat for the night so I can take it out on the lake. It'll be just us, the lake, and the stars." Bo took her hand and helped her onto the boat. "Climb up here Sugar Bear." He grabbed Ciara from Alicia's arms. "Here you go. Your turn." He took Alicia's hand and helped her on board. "Why don't you take this basket down below and get dinner set up and I'll set sail for the open lake."

It was a clear night and the stars shown bright. Having eaten their fill of food, the family went up on deck to gaze at the stars. Bo laid back with Ciara in his arms and Hope and Alicia each lay to either side of him. They lay huddled under a blanket as Bo pointed out the constellations to them and Hope even named a few. They just lay in each others arms enjoying the peaceful lull of the boat gently swaying on the open serene lake and continued to look up at the stars. It wasn't long before Ciara drifted off to sleep in her Daddy's arms and they decided to head back home. Alicia couldn't have planned a better celebration than spending some quiet time with her family.

**Epilogue**

_It had been three months since Alicia learned the results of her tests. Kayla told her there was nothing to worry about and there wasn't. She was cancer free. The girl who had impersonated her suffered from complications after surgery and died of internal bleeding. They never did find out who she really was. It turned out Alicia wasn't the girl on the disc after all. The only true video footage of Alicia was the footage of her and her mother._

_Higley and Vito were given the death penalty and Bo was there to witness their deaths by lethal injection. The town of Salem seemed to be out from under the Dimera evil doings._

_Bo and Hope and their family spent the day celebrating the fourth of July at their house. All the Brady's and Horton's had made it home for the celebration. Hope looked around at all the smiling faces and thought her family could finally be at peace for once. Little did she know there was a shadow lurking on the side lines plotting eternal revenge on the Bradys. The Phoenix always rises from the ashes._

**THE END**


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